It's hard to describe, but around the time of Sonic Adventure's release the empty urban environments felt almost futuristic. Like they had this surreal CGI charm to them and just representing some basic version of reality was enough. I got a Dreamcast and a used copy of SA1 in 2000 but didn't have money for a memory card, so I played the first hour or so of the game over and over. There was a unique magic to that opening area, almost akin to the castle in Super Mario 64.
I recently bought a Sega Saturn. Having never owned one before made me realize again how distinctive Segas games were on each of their consoles and how I miss their quirkiness these days. Especially the Dreamcast had so many weird, yet amazing games that never made it onto other platforms to this day. I miss the time when I would flip through magazines to see games like Jet Set Radio, Space Channel 5 or Sonic Adventure and think "wow, this looks insanely cool and I can't wait to try it out!"
YES!!! You really do cover a subject on youtube that few really do! The atmosphere and feeling that games can give out. It's so incredibly important and I love hearing you talk about these subject!
SEGA was the king of aesthetic and style on the Dreamcast. I didn’t get one until college, but it has become one of my favorite systems because of how wild and creative they got.
This Sonic Adventure city music is bringing me back, oh my gosh. It's always surreal to watch footage of games from your childhood that you once thought were massive open-world landscapes only to realize it was anything but that. Great video as always!
I loved all three of course, but since you asked... :) Space Channel 5 was my favourite mini-essay because of the novelty - I've never heard of it. Also, describing colours as "ruthless" is fantastic. I very much agree with placing high value on the "fake" retro indie scene over the whole 4k photo-realism generic AAA market; that's a direction I didn't expect the video to go, especially not based on House of the Dead, so that was a very pleasant surprise.
I love how each essay just led you down such divergent paths. Your ability to go off piste and then bring yourself back to a conclusion is really entertaining. Thanks for this! And play Soul Reaver 😍
God, I really should play more of the House of the Dead games. I went to England (Somerset, I think?) on a "language trip" when I was 13 and I spent SO much of my money playing arcade games. Trime Crisis 4 and House of the Dead 3 and 4 being the most popular for me. I totally agree though, the esthetic of the older games in the series are just more appealing - and I hope that I'll have time to play through them some time in the future!
The more I look back on Sega, the more I begin to understand that they were the true heroes of the videogame industry all along. Without them, things would be different.
I absolutely loved this!! Even though you say mini-series, this felt like three whole videos that you've meticulously researched and crafted. I personally highly enjoyed the talk about using older games graphical limitations without the burden of modern game design. I am an absolute sucker for crunchy visuals and wacky unrealistic settings!
Amazing video! I love how your points (like the surrealism) can apply to other dreamcast games like Crazy Taxi, Sega Bass Fishing, Shenmue and Jet Set Radio.
I totally agree! The Dreamcast had some of the most insane and creative games I have ever played, and is still one of my favorite consoles. It's definitely been a huge source of inspiration for me! I think one of my favorite videos that I have ever made is a live action grindhouse trailer for the game Illbleed. I don't know if I'd recommend playing Illbleed, but I enjoy how weird it is.
I’ve always wanted to try out Space Channel 5 and just might after this! Something about the retro-futuristic aesthetic will never wear on me and I really can’t get enough of the general Y2K ooze that the Dreamcast and Sega of that era exhibited. Phenomenal look into these gems and I’m glad at least one mention of Fatum Betula made it in while talking about low poly horror!
I love SEGA games so much (Sonic being my favorite franchise), but there's really something special about the games released by them during the Dreamcast era. Sonic Adventure and Space Channel 5 are pure delights to play, and I wish we could get more games like them today. I highly recommend you give Jet Set Radio a try as well. That one is really good from the Dreamcast era. Also, favorite mini essay is probably Sonic Adventure one (tho, Space Channel 5 was close!) I really love Station Square a lot and always loved the details put into the Mystic Ruins based on Sonic Team's real world travels. Wish we could have ambitious types of 3D Sonic games again like the Adventure games.
Loved the house of the dead essay! got a huge hit of nostalgia, remembered when I used to go with an old friend to the Mall's arcade and played house fo the dead an most on rails shooters of the early 2000s
awesome video, loved the essay on retro horror! didn't expect to find it in a video like this. i'm not a huge fan of realistic graphics either, something about them just doesnt click for me in spooky games. stylized or low poly graphics are a lot easier on my eyes
Great video as always. The house of the Dead part was my favorite. If you're looking for recommendations on Dreamcast games, there's always, REZ, Samba de Amigo, Jet Set Radio, Blue Stinger, and of course, Resident Evil Code Veronica.
this was such a treat loved all three subjects but the last was def my fav i really do love the look of crunchy retro style 3D graphics thanks as always for the incredible content you make for us maria you da best ^_^
Unpopular opinion but the Genesis always had better games than the Super Nintendo. Unless you're a fan of RPGs and side scrolling action games, there's more variety on the SEGA side. Out Run, Space Harrier, Super Hang-On, After Burner, Streets of Rage all that are easier to revisit than SNES games.
You touched on part of why I still generally prefer the DS versions of the older Ace Attorneys. Along with preferring that "rougher" look that leaves a little more to the imagination, I also just really appreciate seeing the series' artistic evolution through the first four games (plus Rise from the Ashes), and how the developers gradually grew more comfortable and ambitious with their spritework while trying to navigate the limitations of the GBA and then DS hardware. Also, while I think later HD versions have been better about it, the characters and environments can still have an airbrushed quality that bothers me in spots. Apollo Justice wasn't necessarily my favorite entry in the series (though I'm still fond of it!), but I still think the DS version is the prettiest game in the franchise and has some of my favorite-ever pixel art, in general - a quality that gets lost in later versions. It's the biggest victim in that loss of "artistic evolution" - the original's visuals felt like a culmination of years of hard work and craftsmanship, and such a stunning jump from the first 3 games. And I don't know if that comes across at all when you go through the HD versions.
Amazing retrospective deep-dive. I'd love to know what you make of my favourite game from the House of the Dead series, "The Typing of the Dead". If you ever want greater motivation to improve your touch-typing speed and accuracy, I can recommend no other title.
What a great trip down memory lane for one of my favorite consoles. Also, couldn't agree more about Phoenix Wright DS vs HD. It went from looking like a game to looking like a Flash animation cartoon.
I can't decide whether I liked Space Channel or House of the Dead the more; in both, you speak of stuff very dear to my heart, like retrofuturism and Logan's Run, or retro-aesthetics and Quake.
i was and still am super into Dreamcast- Jet Set Radio is an all time fave (platinumed it on PS3!) and DC is home to the best version of MDK 2 which needs a sequel like 15 years ago.
First video of yours I've watched, please do more on Dreamcast/90s Sega since I think this warrants another episode. You should also do one just focused on the low poly horror scene since it has really exploded in the last few years
I love your videos and your unique perspective! I'd love to hear a deepdive from you about video game theme parks (from Hamtaro Ham-Ham Heartbreak to Nier Automata)
I don't have any nostalgia for the sega side of gaming (outside of the odd sonic game) but there's a certain charm about games like jet set radio, nights and space channel 5 thats unmistakeable and unrepeatable
me too, I think the hd ace attorney remake looks terrible (the apollo justice graphics looks good though, it's just the remake of the pixel graphic games that looks bad)
Sonic brought up so many of us. I recall sonic on miniclip - a memory I’d almost forgotten, but shaped so much of my early childhood, along with the sega racing and winter olympic games on the wii. The pace of those games influenced what I play nowadays, and is something I rarely appreciated. Tyty for the vid euro
Sega Dreamcast has some of the most unique games I've ever played. Sonic Adventure, Jet Set Radio, and Space Channel 5 had a lot of jank, but so much style.
Crazy, few days after watching this, Sega just started a big sale on Steam and their "DREAMCAST COLLECTION" bundle (5 DC games + NiGHTS) is like 6 bucks. I'd totally recommend Jet Set Radio and Crazy Taxi (though I think due to music licencing, there has been changes to their sound tracks?). And if you can ever get a copy of ChuChu Rocket!, really cute / fun puzzle game. Anyway, awesome video as always!
The Dreamcast's biggest failing wasn't at all its games. They were the best part, by far. The console itself was quite tempremental, but, more than that, SEGA messed up big time, investing in an entirely seperate, unfortunately failed console project that took a lot of their funds, and arguably more importantly: time, away from the console we ended up with. And what's worse about that, is it meant SEGA had barely a third-party title on launch. SEGA had it rough towards the end.
Space Channel 5 is a game I always think I should play every time it's mentioned, but then I forget about it and never get round to it. Maybe one day! Definitely agree with your feelings on the PS1 aesthetic too. I don't know if I'd want to play all games in that style, but there is an eerieness unique to it that's appealing. I've been replaying a bunch of early Tomb Raider games and remembering being terrified of the first one as a kid just because of that blocky weirdness, and that's not even a horror game. And you know, I wouldn't mind a larger video on the topic, highlighting some of the best examples of games going back to that aesthetic!
The Dreamcast was one of the last consoles, in my opinions, that gave you an *experience.* It had such a colourful lineup of titles, each throwing you into a wonderland of adventures. Maybe it's just the fanboy in me talking, but it feels as if the gaming industry has stagnated since Sega left. Nowadays everyone's pumping out the same stuff and everyone's playing safe. It's become a muddy pile of war games (always WW1/2 or apocalyptic by the way) and soulless projects. Sega was basically the mad scientist of gaming, Dreamcast was the first with a built in modem, the VMU is a playable memory card, Sega CD was one of the first to use CDs, Sega Channel was 90s Stadia, even small things like lock-on technology was wondrous. Yet, this level of leaps hasn't been replicated to the same extent in the past 15 years. This little rant has gone off track :p, back to Dreamcast... So much wonder in such a tiny box, the design with its rounded-ish edges, little light and overall futuristic-ness is perfect for a company who was always a step ahead. It had such a colourful library in contrast to the puke green shooters that would come. It made huge strides in online gaming and online console compatibility in general. There are people who to this day are making games for Dreamcast! The Dreamcast is not perfect, obviously, 200 blocks of space is barely useful, the controller-to-console ratio is laughable, piracy is as easy as blinking, and the fact it can't play DVDs is a major blow to it. Either way, still love it tl;dr: reject modernity, embrace tradition
Loved this SO much. All three were fantastic (and that research was on point!) so it's hard to pick a favorite, but I found myself appreciating each one more than the last. And I don't think it's just because House of the Dead is the only one of these I've spent time with. I think you put the appeal of low poly aesthetics to words in a way few others have. Both took me back and helped me look forward.
Yeah, the Dreamcast had some wild titles for its time, and it's a damn shame it was the final nail in the coffin for Sega's hardware run. Once a competitor for Nintendo, only to play dead last in console wars until being relegated to software. And yeah, the House of the Dead games lost their charm after 2 and then on. I highly recommend HotD: Overkill b/c that was a great grindhouse tribute! And I only wish we lived in a future when such aesthetics that Space Channel 5 had could be realized. The future could be groovy, but nah. We don't get that. Oh well, might as well listen to my synthwaves and imagine a Blade Runner that could've been.
You articulated exactly what made Sonic Adventure's Station Square so good; it's a playground, or a toy set, that gives the IMPRESSION of a city. Invites the imagination to do some work too, you know? Chaps my ass when people say "that's not realistic," like they do with Station Square and Hyrule Field from Ocarina of Time. It's like, no shit they didn't have the power. They wanted you to engage and join in the fun!
I loved how you explained why low-poly graphics are valid and engaging in horror games, and I actually feel the same as you regarding realism in videogames (that is, I can take it when it's justified by the intentions of the game, but there is no reason for it to be the standard and it's actually detrimental to creativity). Also you already got me with that shoutout to the charming silliness of Earthbound, one of my favorite games and sagas ever. You don't only talk about what I really find fascinating about videogames (and feel it's often overlooked), but articulate it perfectly. So glad I've found your channel!
I love seeing more genuine insight into the appeal of low-poly games. I didn't grow up anywhere near the PS1, Dreamcast, or any console from that era. But I still profoundly love low-poly games - games that embrace their virtuality instead of cloaking it behind layers of hyperrealism. And once you acknowledge the rules of a game's design in that way, it becomes easier to break those rules for a specific purpose. You could say these games are constrained by their hardware, but there's something far more appealing about these games than more modern, technically impressive ones that are constrained by their imagination
Sheer coincidence that I also got into the SEGA mood through Sonic All Stars Racing. Except, it turned me into a SEGA fan. After that game, I played Outrun Coast2Coast, Jet Set Radio 1, Sonic 2 (Whitehead Android port), Streets of Rage 2, Space Channel 5 Pt 2, little Virtua Fighter 4 EVO and replayed House of the Dead 1 + 2 (plus few more I can't recall). Amount of SOUL in these games is unprecedented.
First of all, low poly 3D is best 3D. PS1, N64, Sega Saturn, and Dreamcast were the peak of visual game design IMHO. So nice to see indie games finally revisiting this aesthetic lately! I do hope this gets expanded to more than just horror and FPS games though. But to answer your question, how are we supposed to chose one of three essays when they're all this well written. That's as unrealistic as the city in Sonic Adventure :P (and holy crap is it nice to see some SA1 love when SA2, somewhat deservedly, tends to overshadow it). That said, your Space Channel 5 one has convinced me that Ulala was Sega's prototype for Bayonetta (the character, not the game). Both pull off wicked cool moves with a lot of retro style and camp, and Bayonetta ALWAYS looks like she's dancing.
Awesome video. Other sega titles I'd recommend from that time would be Jet Set Radio, NiGHTS into Dreams, Crazy Taxi, Billy Hatcher, Super Monkey Ball; just off the top of my head.
I wanted to get into space channel 5 but found the controls unbearable Other Dreamcast games id highly recommend are Jet Set Radio and Ecco the Dolphin
Excellent video essay(s)!! I came here to appreciate old Sega games, but I learned about 60's / 70's retro futurism and Haunted PS1 instead (which both are awesome things I am now going to look further in to)!
I grew up with a Dreamcast in the US and have since then lost most of those games due to multiple moves to different states. That console carried with it a lot of wonderful memories. Though the games I had weren't the greatest, I will always remember spending tons of hours playing them. I recommend checking out: Dead or Alive 2, Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness, Ooga Booga, and 102 Dalmatians. Hilarious titles, but honestly they were so much fun to play.
It's not often I find a video that I completely agree with on all points. I was fortunate enough to have a father into all things tech, and so I had the pleasure to experience the Dreamcast and many of its games (most of which were pirated, because that's just what people did here at the time). These days I recognize that Sonic Adventure isn't a very good game, but I was in love with its world and characters as a child. I even enjoyed exploring the incredibly empty Mystic Ruins area, just because it managed to spark my imagination. I never got too far in Space Channel 5 due to my lack of rhythm skills, but I loved the soundtrack and I find the retrofuturistic Y2K very endearing and nostalgic. And although I've never actually played House of the Dead, I've always been fond of the aesthetic of the first two games. Long live low-poly and pixelated textures!
One of my least favourite things about Sonic Adventure 2 back when it released was the lack of Adventure Fields, but I wouldn't want SEGA to go back to them now. It's the low-poly, unrealistic quality that you speak to in this video, which brings them their charm, and I don't think a modern video game would be able to "get away" with that, if it makes any sense?
Sega has so many different types of games and they're usually really good and unique. Honestly think they could rival Nintendo again (in terms of games) if they focus on revitalizing their old IP and making them more known. Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is a really interesting showcase of all their IP together, there's enough there that they could even make their own Smash Bros. haha
If you enjoyed House of the Dead, I also recommend checking out Typing of the Dead. It's a "typing game" version of those games, where you shoot the monsters by typing words and such, which I think is actually surprisingly quite amusing and fun in that game
I went into this expecting the House of the Dead portion to be the least interesting, but I came away with the most to think about. I've thought about this before, but it's true what you say about the modern games industry versus the game industry of 15+ years ago. The eras of the PS1, N64, Dreamcast, PS2, Gamecube, and Xbox were a golden age of sorts in my view. The industry wasn't so huge and the budgets weren't so large that they couldn't afford to take risks on interesting titles, and budgets and development times were smaller, thus reducing the negative impact if the game sold poorly. At the same time, technology had advanced far enough that a lot of game design options were viable, new ideas ripe for experimentation. We still get more adventurous and unique games occasionally of course, but gone are the days when larger game devs were routinely willing to take a risk on experimental styles of game, so these games mostly come from indie or occasionally mid-tier devs. And even then, a large portion of indie devs these days follow certain formulas, notably roguelikes, metroidvanias, and short story-focused games with basic gameplay. Mostly the best you can hope for these days is an interesting setting plastered over a tried and true gameplay formula, with perhaps a few interesting tweaks here and there. That said, I do suppose it's fair to point out that there are a larger number of established formulas now, so I'm sure it's harder to break new ground. I still think many of the games that are released these days are great, but they feel like they lack a certain spark a lot of the time, and I don't think that's just nostalgia talking. Games like Tomba, Parasite Eve, Katamari Damacy, Magic Pengel, or Space Channel 5, for example, are not the kind of games you'd see made these days by anyone outside of the indie space, with rare exception. They are either conceptually or mechanically (or both) too risky for a large developer or publisher to want to take a chance on. And yet these kinds of games drive innovation in a way that can create hot new franchises and formulas that people adore, pushing the industry forward and raking in money if they succeed. They say no risk, no reward, but I suppose familiarity sells and there's no reason to innovate when Ubisoft Open World Game 53 still sells millions of copies.
this is such a fantastic video through and through. older games were alive with creativity and the scene was still new. lots of bad games got made but the creators that broke through were true innovators. not only have commercial games lost diversity of aesthetic, but any sense of meaning or excitement behind the game itself as a novel creation. once people knew what "a game" was, and refined that, originality became increasingly sparse. I think this showed the most around the ps3/360 area, and is painfully obvious now with the prevalence of photorealism, gunplay, and profitable live service models. I'm not sure if we'll ever see true creativity enter the commercial scene again, but devs like Kojima Productions, Fromsoft, and That Game Company still give me hope for mainstream games
I am so here for the late 90s game graphic aesthetic resurgence Incidentally, I never noticed how nonsensical Sonic Adventure's city is in it's design, I guess my mind just sort of filtered out the parts that made no sense lol Other than the super obvious reasons (load times, etc.) it'd be pretty interesting to examine why SA's city worked where Sonic 06's didn't.
Since retroarch got a release on steam recently I've been playing through Typing of the Dead again for the first time in over a decade. I know retroarch has been around a lot longer than the steam version but I've been so caught up in a bunch of newer games the steam release kinda gave me an excuse to dig up my old physical collections and start playing them on emulators again. I love the absolutely insane idea to make a typing tutor out of the house of the dead franchise and add charm to it by making you type out ridiculous sentences, some of them long enough that they're deliberately designed to mess with you, it really speaks to the fun loving an experimental nature of the time that game came out.
That was great! I loved my Dreamcast and I miss it dearly. If you check out any Dreamcast game I would suggest that you try Powerstone, it was and still is my favourite 3d fighter and it was just so much fun playing in any given environment because you could interact with literally anything. There was 2 of them, I'd go with the original as the cleaner superior experience but I do admit I had a lot of fun with the item crafting mechanic in the second game, the only time I've enjoyed that sort of thing rather than seen it as an unneccesary chore.
I will always love early Sonic as it was me introduction to video games. I still want SEGA to do new things, push boundaries, and write interesting stories, but I'll always scream-sing Escape from the City on bad days.
honestly this channel is so amazing, watching these videos gives me the same feeling as uncovering an old gem at a vinyl store, and I really appreciate your dedication to style
Sonic adventure was the first game I remember playing, asking for help from older siblings to get through the bosses. This video is well done and it's making me itch to go back and play some more dreamcast games! Space channel 5 is definitely on my list now too! It makes me so happy to learn about the revival of low-poly art. Thanks for making these little essays, bringing attention to these games and era! ❤
Every friday i play horror indie games, and those haunted demo games, without doubt those are the most refreshing games. and i loved that you talked about most of them. Keep it up.
I hate (most) modern games why are they so bland and lacking, last game reveals the only thing looked good was Indie titles and Elden Ring. It's like Companies stopped caring about the game and just make something to appease share holders, annual releases and make biggest profito. 😥
My favorite would have to be Sonic Adventure because of the history and nostalgia it brings me but your dive into the House of The Dead 2 retro thought was really charming as well
Always love your vids! Space Channel 5 holds a dear spot in my heart as the rhythm game that got me into that 'its life but every action is a rhythm minigame' genre (Like rhythm thief, parappa the rapper, and recently rhythm doctor)
I like that reflection about horror games, and I think it kind of correlates with the idea that newer and improved graphics aren't inherently better. Maybe some of the more psychedelic and weird horror subgenres are best suited for a low-poly aesthetic, the same way some (modern) thriller movies benefit from a black and white shooting.
I know you won't make it, but 1 Sonic video about 1 Sonic game would be so cool. You are so obviously a Sonic fan in some small capacity, and I'd fins it really fun to hear your opinions on a few things.
I don't know if it's just me, but that Intro was quite hard to listen to. Music with lyrics behind a narration voice, my brain was trying to focus on both at once.
Really enjoyed the video Dreamcast has always been one of my favourite consoles would recommend toy commander really unique and imaginative title also illbleed is as obscure and surreal as it gets :)
In this house, we only believe in Ulala supremacy.
It's hard to describe, but around the time of Sonic Adventure's release the empty urban environments felt almost futuristic. Like they had this surreal CGI charm to them and just representing some basic version of reality was enough. I got a Dreamcast and a used copy of SA1 in 2000 but didn't have money for a memory card, so I played the first hour or so of the game over and over. There was a unique magic to that opening area, almost akin to the castle in Super Mario 64.
I recently bought a Sega Saturn. Having never owned one before made me realize again how distinctive Segas games were on each of their consoles and how I miss their quirkiness these days. Especially the Dreamcast had so many weird, yet amazing games that never made it onto other platforms to this day. I miss the time when I would flip through magazines to see games like Jet Set Radio, Space Channel 5 or Sonic Adventure and think "wow, this looks insanely cool and I can't wait to try it out!"
YES!!! You really do cover a subject on youtube that few really do! The atmosphere and feeling that games can give out. It's so incredibly important and I love hearing you talk about these subject!
SEGA was the king of aesthetic and style on the Dreamcast. I didn’t get one until college, but it has become one of my favorite systems because of how wild and creative they got.
This Sonic Adventure city music is bringing me back, oh my gosh. It's always surreal to watch footage of games from your childhood that you once thought were massive open-world landscapes only to realize it was anything but that. Great video as always!
Loved this! Never played Space Channel before so interesting to see it summed up so succinctly!
I loved all three of course, but since you asked... :) Space Channel 5 was my favourite mini-essay because of the novelty - I've never heard of it. Also, describing colours as "ruthless" is fantastic. I very much agree with placing high value on the "fake" retro indie scene over the whole 4k photo-realism generic AAA market; that's a direction I didn't expect the video to go, especially not based on House of the Dead, so that was a very pleasant surprise.
I love how each essay just led you down such divergent paths. Your ability to go off piste and then bring yourself back to a conclusion is really entertaining. Thanks for this!
And play Soul Reaver 😍
“The levels were designed with sonic in mind.”
Arin somewhere: Noooooooooooooooo!
God, I really should play more of the House of the Dead games. I went to England (Somerset, I think?) on a "language trip" when I was 13 and I spent SO much of my money playing arcade games. Trime Crisis 4 and House of the Dead 3 and 4 being the most popular for me. I totally agree though, the esthetic of the older games in the series are just more appealing - and I hope that I'll have time to play through them some time in the future!
The more I look back on Sega, the more I begin to understand that they were the true heroes of the videogame industry all along. Without them, things would be different.
They shaped the gaming industry. It's something that gets forgotten with time.
I absolutely loved this!! Even though you say mini-series, this felt like three whole videos that you've meticulously researched and crafted. I personally highly enjoyed the talk about using older games graphical limitations without the burden of modern game design. I am an absolute sucker for crunchy visuals and wacky unrealistic settings!
Excellent video as always! I love it when you talk about fashion and set design, because those are things that typically go over my head.
Amazing video! I love how your points (like the surrealism) can apply to other dreamcast games like Crazy Taxi, Sega Bass Fishing, Shenmue and Jet Set Radio.
I totally agree! The Dreamcast had some of the most insane and creative games I have ever played, and is still one of my favorite consoles. It's definitely been a huge source of inspiration for me! I think one of my favorite videos that I have ever made is a live action grindhouse trailer for the game Illbleed. I don't know if I'd recommend playing Illbleed, but I enjoy how weird it is.
I remember going to the arcade as a kid while on vacation and just grinding house of the dead, i sucked at it but it was a lot of fun
I’ve always wanted to try out Space Channel 5 and just might after this! Something about the retro-futuristic aesthetic will never wear on me and I really can’t get enough of the general Y2K ooze that the Dreamcast and Sega of that era exhibited. Phenomenal look into these gems and I’m glad at least one mention of Fatum Betula made it in while talking about low poly horror!
I love SEGA games so much (Sonic being my favorite franchise), but there's really something special about the games released by them during the Dreamcast era. Sonic Adventure and Space Channel 5 are pure delights to play, and I wish we could get more games like them today. I highly recommend you give Jet Set Radio a try as well. That one is really good from the Dreamcast era.
Also, favorite mini essay is probably Sonic Adventure one (tho, Space Channel 5 was close!) I really love Station Square a lot and always loved the details put into the Mystic Ruins based on Sonic Team's real world travels. Wish we could have ambitious types of 3D Sonic games again like the Adventure games.
Loved the house of the dead essay! got a huge hit of nostalgia, remembered when I used to go with an old friend to the Mall's arcade and played house fo the dead an most on rails shooters of the early 2000s
awesome video, loved the essay on retro horror! didn't expect to find it in a video like this. i'm not a huge fan of realistic graphics either, something about them just doesnt click for me in spooky games. stylized or low poly graphics are a lot easier on my eyes
Great video as always. The house of the Dead part was my favorite.
If you're looking for recommendations on Dreamcast games, there's always, REZ, Samba de Amigo, Jet Set Radio, Blue Stinger, and of course, Resident Evil Code Veronica.
Sonic adventure, Billy egg Hatcher, I always forget how much Sega meant to me growing up. Great video!
this was such a treat loved all three subjects but the last was def my fav i really do love the look of crunchy retro style 3D graphics thanks as always for the incredible content you make for us maria you da best ^_^
These types of videos are my kind of jam, I'm subbing :]
Sonic Adventure has an amazing soundtrack! It is so iconic and well produced.
Unpopular opinion but the Genesis always had better games than the Super Nintendo. Unless you're a fan of RPGs and side scrolling action games, there's more variety on the SEGA side. Out Run, Space Harrier, Super Hang-On, After Burner, Streets of Rage all that are easier to revisit than SNES games.
You touched on part of why I still generally prefer the DS versions of the older Ace Attorneys. Along with preferring that "rougher" look that leaves a little more to the imagination, I also just really appreciate seeing the series' artistic evolution through the first four games (plus Rise from the Ashes), and how the developers gradually grew more comfortable and ambitious with their spritework while trying to navigate the limitations of the GBA and then DS hardware. Also, while I think later HD versions have been better about it, the characters and environments can still have an airbrushed quality that bothers me in spots.
Apollo Justice wasn't necessarily my favorite entry in the series (though I'm still fond of it!), but I still think the DS version is the prettiest game in the franchise and has some of my favorite-ever pixel art, in general - a quality that gets lost in later versions. It's the biggest victim in that loss of "artistic evolution" - the original's visuals felt like a culmination of years of hard work and craftsmanship, and such a stunning jump from the first 3 games. And I don't know if that comes across at all when you go through the HD versions.
Amazing retrospective deep-dive. I'd love to know what you make of my favourite game from the House of the Dead series, "The Typing of the Dead".
If you ever want greater motivation to improve your touch-typing speed and accuracy, I can recommend no other title.
What a great trip down memory lane for one of my favorite consoles.
Also, couldn't agree more about Phoenix Wright DS vs HD. It went from looking like a game to looking like a Flash animation cartoon.
I can't decide whether I liked Space Channel or House of the Dead the more; in both, you speak of stuff very dear to my heart, like retrofuturism and Logan's Run, or retro-aesthetics and Quake.
i was and still am super into Dreamcast- Jet Set Radio is an all time fave (platinumed it on PS3!) and DC is home to the best version of MDK 2 which needs a sequel like 15 years ago.
First video of yours I've watched, please do more on Dreamcast/90s Sega since I think this warrants another episode. You should also do one just focused on the low poly horror scene since it has really exploded in the last few years
I love your videos and your unique perspective! I'd love to hear a deepdive from you about video game theme parks (from Hamtaro Ham-Ham Heartbreak to Nier Automata)
I don't have any nostalgia for the sega side of gaming (outside of the odd sonic game) but there's a certain charm about games like jet set radio, nights and space channel 5 thats unmistakeable and unrepeatable
me too, I think the hd ace attorney remake looks terrible (the apollo justice graphics looks good though, it's just the remake of the pixel graphic games that looks bad)
Sonic brought up so many of us. I recall sonic on miniclip - a memory I’d almost forgotten, but shaped so much of my early childhood, along with the sega racing and winter olympic games on the wii. The pace of those games influenced what I play nowadays, and is something I rarely appreciated. Tyty for the vid euro
Classic Sega games just hit different, always have.
Sega Dreamcast has some of the most unique games I've ever played. Sonic Adventure, Jet Set Radio, and Space Channel 5 had a lot of jank, but so much style.
future that hasn't come to fruition, *yet*... lol
The only problem with this video is that you didn't praise Big The Cat enough 😡
Crazy, few days after watching this, Sega just started a big sale on Steam and their "DREAMCAST COLLECTION" bundle (5 DC games + NiGHTS) is like 6 bucks. I'd totally recommend Jet Set Radio and Crazy Taxi (though I think due to music licencing, there has been changes to their sound tracks?). And if you can ever get a copy of ChuChu Rocket!, really cute / fun puzzle game. Anyway, awesome video as always!
The Dreamcast's biggest failing wasn't at all its games. They were the best part, by far. The console itself was quite tempremental, but, more than that, SEGA messed up big time, investing in an entirely seperate, unfortunately failed console project that took a lot of their funds, and arguably more importantly: time, away from the console we ended up with. And what's worse about that, is it meant SEGA had barely a third-party title on launch. SEGA had it rough towards the end.
Space Channel 5 is a game I always think I should play every time it's mentioned, but then I forget about it and never get round to it. Maybe one day!
Definitely agree with your feelings on the PS1 aesthetic too. I don't know if I'd want to play all games in that style, but there is an eerieness unique to it that's appealing. I've been replaying a bunch of early Tomb Raider games and remembering being terrified of the first one as a kid just because of that blocky weirdness, and that's not even a horror game. And you know, I wouldn't mind a larger video on the topic, highlighting some of the best examples of games going back to that aesthetic!
The Dreamcast was one of the last consoles, in my opinions, that gave you an *experience.* It had such a colourful lineup of titles, each throwing you into a wonderland of adventures. Maybe it's just the fanboy in me talking, but it feels as if the gaming industry has stagnated since Sega left. Nowadays everyone's pumping out the same stuff and everyone's playing safe. It's become a muddy pile of war games (always WW1/2 or apocalyptic by the way) and soulless projects. Sega was basically the mad scientist of gaming, Dreamcast was the first with a built in modem, the VMU is a playable memory card, Sega CD was one of the first to use CDs, Sega Channel was 90s Stadia, even small things like lock-on technology was wondrous. Yet, this level of leaps hasn't been replicated to the same extent in the past 15 years.
This little rant has gone off track :p, back to Dreamcast...
So much wonder in such a tiny box, the design with its rounded-ish edges, little light and overall futuristic-ness is perfect for a company who was always a step ahead. It had such a colourful library in contrast to the puke green shooters that would come. It made huge strides in online gaming and online console compatibility in general. There are people who to this day are making games for Dreamcast!
The Dreamcast is not perfect, obviously, 200 blocks of space is barely useful, the controller-to-console ratio is laughable, piracy is as easy as blinking, and the fact it can't play DVDs is a major blow to it.
Either way, still love it
tl;dr: reject modernity, embrace tradition
Loved this SO much. All three were fantastic (and that research was on point!) so it's hard to pick a favorite, but I found myself appreciating each one more than the last.
And I don't think it's just because House of the Dead is the only one of these I've spent time with. I think you put the appeal of low poly aesthetics to words in a way few others have. Both took me back and helped me look forward.
Yeah, the Dreamcast had some wild titles for its time, and it's a damn shame it was the final nail in the coffin for Sega's hardware run. Once a competitor for Nintendo, only to play dead last in console wars until being relegated to software.
And yeah, the House of the Dead games lost their charm after 2 and then on. I highly recommend HotD: Overkill b/c that was a great grindhouse tribute!
And I only wish we lived in a future when such aesthetics that Space Channel 5 had could be realized. The future could be groovy, but nah. We don't get that. Oh well, might as well listen to my synthwaves and imagine a Blade Runner that could've been.
You articulated exactly what made Sonic Adventure's Station Square so good; it's a playground, or a toy set, that gives the IMPRESSION of a city. Invites the imagination to do some work too, you know? Chaps my ass when people say "that's not realistic," like they do with Station Square and Hyrule Field from Ocarina of Time. It's like, no shit they didn't have the power. They wanted you to engage and join in the fun!
I love the look of movies like Logan's Run and 2001. I didn't not know Space Channel 5 took inspiration from the style.
Excellent work!
Awesome Video!!
I loved how you explained why low-poly graphics are valid and engaging in horror games, and I actually feel the same as you regarding realism in videogames (that is, I can take it when it's justified by the intentions of the game, but there is no reason for it to be the standard and it's actually detrimental to creativity). Also you already got me with that shoutout to the charming silliness of Earthbound, one of my favorite games and sagas ever. You don't only talk about what I really find fascinating about videogames (and feel it's often overlooked), but articulate it perfectly. So glad I've found your channel!
I love seeing more genuine insight into the appeal of low-poly games. I didn't grow up anywhere near the PS1, Dreamcast, or any console from that era. But I still profoundly love low-poly games - games that embrace their virtuality instead of cloaking it behind layers of hyperrealism. And once you acknowledge the rules of a game's design in that way, it becomes easier to break those rules for a specific purpose. You could say these games are constrained by their hardware, but there's something far more appealing about these games than more modern, technically impressive ones that are constrained by their imagination
Sheer coincidence that I also got into the SEGA mood through Sonic All Stars Racing.
Except, it turned me into a SEGA fan. After that game, I played Outrun Coast2Coast, Jet Set Radio 1, Sonic 2 (Whitehead Android port), Streets of Rage 2, Space Channel 5 Pt 2, little Virtua Fighter 4 EVO and replayed House of the Dead 1 + 2 (plus few more I can't recall).
Amount of SOUL in these games is unprecedented.
First of all, low poly 3D is best 3D. PS1, N64, Sega Saturn, and Dreamcast were the peak of visual game design IMHO. So nice to see indie games finally revisiting this aesthetic lately! I do hope this gets expanded to more than just horror and FPS games though.
But to answer your question, how are we supposed to chose one of three essays when they're all this well written. That's as unrealistic as the city in Sonic Adventure :P (and holy crap is it nice to see some SA1 love when SA2, somewhat deservedly, tends to overshadow it). That said, your Space Channel 5 one has convinced me that Ulala was Sega's prototype for Bayonetta (the character, not the game). Both pull off wicked cool moves with a lot of retro style and camp, and Bayonetta ALWAYS looks like she's dancing.
Awesome video.
Other sega titles I'd recommend from that time would be Jet Set Radio, NiGHTS into Dreams, Crazy Taxi, Billy Hatcher, Super Monkey Ball; just off the top of my head.
I wanted to get into space channel 5 but found the controls unbearable
Other Dreamcast games id highly recommend are Jet Set Radio and Ecco the Dolphin
Excellent video essay(s)!! I came here to appreciate old Sega games, but I learned about 60's / 70's retro futurism and Haunted PS1 instead (which both are awesome things I am now going to look further in to)!
I grew up with a Dreamcast in the US and have since then lost most of those games due to multiple moves to different states. That console carried with it a lot of wonderful memories. Though the games I had weren't the greatest, I will always remember spending tons of hours playing them. I recommend checking out: Dead or Alive 2, Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness, Ooga Booga, and 102 Dalmatians. Hilarious titles, but honestly they were so much fun to play.
It's not often I find a video that I completely agree with on all points. I was fortunate enough to have a father into all things tech, and so I had the pleasure to experience the Dreamcast and many of its games (most of which were pirated, because that's just what people did here at the time). These days I recognize that Sonic Adventure isn't a very good game, but I was in love with its world and characters as a child. I even enjoyed exploring the incredibly empty Mystic Ruins area, just because it managed to spark my imagination. I never got too far in Space Channel 5 due to my lack of rhythm skills, but I loved the soundtrack and I find the retrofuturistic Y2K very endearing and nostalgic. And although I've never actually played House of the Dead, I've always been fond of the aesthetic of the first two games. Long live low-poly and pixelated textures!
One of my least favourite things about Sonic Adventure 2 back when it released was the lack of Adventure Fields, but I wouldn't want SEGA to go back to them now. It's the low-poly, unrealistic quality that you speak to in this video, which brings them their charm, and I don't think a modern video game would be able to "get away" with that, if it makes any sense?
Sega has so many different types of games and they're usually really good and unique. Honestly think they could rival Nintendo again (in terms of games) if they focus on revitalizing their old IP and making them more known. Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is a really interesting showcase of all their IP together, there's enough there that they could even make their own Smash Bros. haha
If you enjoyed House of the Dead, I also recommend checking out Typing of the Dead. It's a "typing game" version of those games, where you shoot the monsters by typing words and such, which I think is actually surprisingly quite amusing and fun in that game
I went into this expecting the House of the Dead portion to be the least interesting, but I came away with the most to think about. I've thought about this before, but it's true what you say about the modern games industry versus the game industry of 15+ years ago. The eras of the PS1, N64, Dreamcast, PS2, Gamecube, and Xbox were a golden age of sorts in my view. The industry wasn't so huge and the budgets weren't so large that they couldn't afford to take risks on interesting titles, and budgets and development times were smaller, thus reducing the negative impact if the game sold poorly. At the same time, technology had advanced far enough that a lot of game design options were viable, new ideas ripe for experimentation. We still get more adventurous and unique games occasionally of course, but gone are the days when larger game devs were routinely willing to take a risk on experimental styles of game, so these games mostly come from indie or occasionally mid-tier devs. And even then, a large portion of indie devs these days follow certain formulas, notably roguelikes, metroidvanias, and short story-focused games with basic gameplay. Mostly the best you can hope for these days is an interesting setting plastered over a tried and true gameplay formula, with perhaps a few interesting tweaks here and there. That said, I do suppose it's fair to point out that there are a larger number of established formulas now, so I'm sure it's harder to break new ground.
I still think many of the games that are released these days are great, but they feel like they lack a certain spark a lot of the time, and I don't think that's just nostalgia talking. Games like Tomba, Parasite Eve, Katamari Damacy, Magic Pengel, or Space Channel 5, for example, are not the kind of games you'd see made these days by anyone outside of the indie space, with rare exception. They are either conceptually or mechanically (or both) too risky for a large developer or publisher to want to take a chance on. And yet these kinds of games drive innovation in a way that can create hot new franchises and formulas that people adore, pushing the industry forward and raking in money if they succeed. They say no risk, no reward, but I suppose familiarity sells and there's no reason to innovate when Ubisoft Open World Game 53 still sells millions of copies.
this is such a fantastic video through and through. older games were alive with creativity and the scene was still new. lots of bad games got made but the creators that broke through were true innovators. not only have commercial games lost diversity of aesthetic, but any sense of meaning or excitement behind the game itself as a novel creation. once people knew what "a game" was, and refined that, originality became increasingly sparse. I think this showed the most around the ps3/360 area, and is painfully obvious now with the prevalence of photorealism, gunplay, and profitable live service models. I'm not sure if we'll ever see true creativity enter the commercial scene again, but devs like Kojima Productions, Fromsoft, and That Game Company still give me hope for mainstream games
I am so here for the late 90s game graphic aesthetic resurgence
Incidentally, I never noticed how nonsensical Sonic Adventure's city is in it's design, I guess my mind just sort of filtered out the parts that made no sense lol
Other than the super obvious reasons (load times, etc.) it'd be pretty interesting to examine why SA's city worked where Sonic 06's didn't.
Since retroarch got a release on steam recently I've been playing through Typing of the Dead again for the first time in over a decade. I know retroarch has been around a lot longer than the steam version but I've been so caught up in a bunch of newer games the steam release kinda gave me an excuse to dig up my old physical collections and start playing them on emulators again. I love the absolutely insane idea to make a typing tutor out of the house of the dead franchise and add charm to it by making you type out ridiculous sentences, some of them long enough that they're deliberately designed to mess with you, it really speaks to the fun loving an experimental nature of the time that game came out.
That was great! I loved my Dreamcast and I miss it dearly. If you check out any Dreamcast game I would suggest that you try Powerstone, it was and still is my favourite 3d fighter and it was just so much fun playing in any given environment because you could interact with literally anything. There was 2 of them, I'd go with the original as the cleaner superior experience but I do admit I had a lot of fun with the item crafting mechanic in the second game, the only time I've enjoyed that sort of thing rather than seen it as an unneccesary chore.
I will always love early Sonic as it was me introduction to video games. I still want SEGA to do new things, push boundaries, and write interesting stories, but I'll always scream-sing Escape from the City on bad days.
honestly this channel is so amazing, watching these videos gives me the same feeling as uncovering an old gem at a vinyl store, and I really appreciate your dedication to style
Sonic adventure was the first game I remember playing, asking for help from older siblings to get through the bosses. This video is well done and it's making me itch to go back and play some more dreamcast games! Space channel 5 is definitely on my list now too! It makes me so happy to learn about the revival of low-poly art. Thanks for making these little essays, bringing attention to these games and era! ❤
Every friday i play horror indie games, and those haunted demo games, without doubt those are the most refreshing games. and i loved that you talked about most of them. Keep it up.
dreamcast is perhaps my most nostalgic console even though NES was my first console
I hate (most) modern games why are they so bland and lacking, last game reveals the only thing looked good was Indie titles and Elden Ring. It's like Companies stopped caring about the game and just make something to appease share holders, annual releases and make biggest profito. 😥
My favorite would have to be Sonic Adventure because of the history and nostalgia it brings me but your dive into the House of The Dead 2 retro thought was really charming as well
I must say, kudos for modding the PC version of Sonic Adventure DX to have the art direction be as close to the Dreamcast original as possible.
Always love your vids! Space Channel 5 holds a dear spot in my heart as the rhythm game that got me into that 'its life but every action is a rhythm minigame' genre (Like rhythm thief, parappa the rapper, and recently rhythm doctor)
I like that reflection about horror games, and I think it kind of correlates with the idea that newer and improved graphics aren't inherently better. Maybe some of the more psychedelic and weird horror subgenres are best suited for a low-poly aesthetic, the same way some (modern) thriller movies benefit from a black and white shooting.
I know you won't make it, but 1 Sonic video about 1 Sonic game would be so cool. You are so obviously a Sonic fan in some small capacity, and I'd fins it really fun to hear your opinions on a few things.
Retro Horror was definitely my favourite, thank you. Modern controls with retro graphics and gameplay is very appealing to me.
I am definitely falling back to games that are more pixel art like the ones I played as a kid. The simple graphic just amazing
It's a slow game these days, but I love Phantasy Star Online. If you can get a copy of version 2 and try it out, I'd recommend it.
Oh my God I subscribed 9 months ago.. why haven't I gotten any videos in my feed you uploaded so much since then 🥺
Wonderful. ❤️ It's frightening how fast some gems vanish.
@2:14 is where i live 😊 yay
The aesthetic, style, even the crunchy voice lines from Sonic Adventure will be mentions coming off of my lips even when I am on my deathbed.
I don't know if it's just me, but that Intro was quite hard to listen to. Music with lyrics behind a narration voice, my brain was trying to focus on both at once.
Dang, I have so many games on Steam like this... I should really give them a try!
Really enjoyed the video Dreamcast has always been one of my favourite consoles would recommend toy commander really unique and imaginative title also illbleed is as obscure and surreal as it gets :)
I wonder if you've played crazy taxi, not the most popular sega game but certainly a fun spin on the fast cars genre of games
Liked before viewed.
Very good video! Found it from your tweet announcing its release, now subscribed and looking forward to more!
Theres a lot of hidden gems on the Dreamcast, one of my favourite games growing up was Blue Stinger
try cruelty squad
You really got your way with words keep it going! I dont even likesega games and now i wanna try a couple^^
The aesthetics of the city in Sonic Adventures are perfect
I was not aware of so much in this video. I need to get into this new scene of indie horror! Thank you so much for sharing all of this!
I like how, even though theese games get a lot of hate for being broken and what not, Euro can say soo many nice things about them.
Favourite youtuber and favourite games? Don't you dare wake me up.
wonderful!
Nights into dreams, samba de amigo and super monkey ball are my classic sega rec's o/