Friday Discussion: Old School Sega

Written by Ryan Smotherman on July 27, 2001

Friday Discussion: Old School Sega: Old School!!!!!!!!!!!!

Which old school Sega game do you wish was remade for the Dreamcast? That's the Sega discussion question for this week. For some reason or another, Sega seems take their sweet time when it comes to updating proven hit franchises. Here are a few examples of classic Sega games that are in dire need of an update: Streets of Rage, Shinobi, Shining Force, Golden Axe, Vectorman, a traditional Phantasy Star, and Panzer Dragoon. As of recently, fans new to Sega got a chance to test out many of these classic games in Sega's Smash Pack Vol. 1, which was released earlier this year. Sadly though, with the Dreamcast being phased out we'll never get to see remakes of these classic titles on a Sega system. Today the Sega Target staff will take a look at the games we feel missed their mark for a magnificent return on the Dreamcast.

Ryan's Pick: Streets of Rage
When I think Уold school SegaФ, I usually think of the Sega Genesis. It was Sega's premiere system, and it was also the console where many of Sega's classics were born, Sonic and Ecco for example. The Sega Saturn seems a little too recent of systems to warrant an Уold schoolФ title in my book. As for the Master System and Sega CD, those too are of course considered old school.

This brings us to my pick, Streets of Rage. The so-called Уbeat-em-upФ genre has been very stale as of late; actually it's been this way for a long time now (Draconus and Sword of the Beserk are a couple exceptions). The most recent addition was Square's disappointing game The Bouncer; it was one of those many PS2 titles that sell mainly off hype. Anyways, Sega proved to be masters of the genre back in the 16-bit days with their Streets of Rage series, which had three different incarnations on the Sega Genesis, and ever since SoR 3 we've heard nothing out of the franchise. The Dreamcast was Sega's perfect opportunity to bring the series back into action. Too bad they didn't.

Man, I could just imagine the updated graphics, new fighting movesЕhell, it'd be a total rehaul of the original games. At least that's what I'd expect when you move from a 16-bit, 2-D console to a 128-bit polygon-pushing monster. However, there has been some good news as of late. Rumors have been circulating on the possibility of a new Streets of Rage appearing on the Xbox. I for one hope this rings true (especially since I'm getting an Xbox), and I look forward to Sega exploiting their older franchises in the future.

Daniel's Pick: Undecided
(he can never decide on any one thing)
I don't know if there is any one game that I wish had come out for the Dreamcast, either in updated form or not. I never owned a 32x, Sega CD or Saturn. There are a lot of good games that I have missed out on. One of the games that is highest on my list would be Nights: Into Dreams. I have heard so much about this game it makes me sick. I wish I could play this game. Sonic Team created yet another game that represents the hallmark of Sega, originality. The game played out like a Japanimation version of the film Dreamscape. The graphics are supposed to be some of the best of the 32-bit era. I'm sure that with the Dreamcast being easy to program for, and Sonic Team having the original code around somewhere, it shouldn't take too much effort to bring the game over to the Dreamcast. Just port the game, as is even. You don't need to make any enhancements on my account!

The Panzer Dragoon series is another that I wish I had the opportunity to play. Yet another casualty of the Sega hardware mis-steps. This series of games spanned genre's ranging from a fast paced shooter to an incredible RPG. Many people say that these are games that not only defined the Saturn era, but are some of Sega's best games, regardless of platform. Finding a working Saturn nowadays is near impossible. Even if you do manage to get one, finding one of these games for less than $100 is unheard of (at least Saga anyways).

Of course, a lot of this could be remedied if Sega would release more Smash Packs. I really like this idea a lot. There has long been rumored that Sega was going to put out a compilation of older Sonic titles for the Dreamcast. This would be great! I'd be in geek heaven. I'd love to have the entire Phantasy Star series (pre-PSO) on a couple of GD-ROMs. There are many other great Sega games from the old Master System to the Saturn that would see new life (and $) even if they didn't get a graphical upgrade. Of course, the one game that I really wish was available for the American Dreamcast is Segagaga, but that's for another discussion.

Arthur's Pick: Shining Force
A game that I would love to see make a return is Shining Force. It was love at first play for me. The stories are always great and with graphics ahead of its time it's turned out to be one of Sega's greatest franchises. I've always loved trying to find all secret characters and items. And what could be better then building your own unique team of skilled fighters to take on any obstacle? I also love the turn based fighting system that I think should be used in every RPG.

If and when they ever make another I would also love to see actual voices for each of the characters (more than in Shining Force 3), and a lot more magic. But the greatest feature of them all would be an online multi-player mode where you can take your crew out and demolish people all over the world, which would have worked great on the Dreamcast. Who knows, maybe we will get to one day, until then, it's back to dreaming for me.

Bill's Pick: Streets of Rage
After saying I would like to see Sega support all of the future consoles last week, I thought about saying that I would've liked to see all of Sega's old school games on the Dreamcast (well, I would actually). But then I began to think about one title. The game that provided me with the most fun I've ever had with a video game... Streets of Rage.

I owned all of the Streets of Rage games for my Genesis. I played them so much I knew where every enemy and every weapon was on every level. I could beat them using my feet and with my eyes closed at the same time.

Can you imagine a Streets of Rage game on the Dreamcast? Thinking about the beautiful graphics, fluid gameplay, and ass kicking is leaving me in a state of depression. Thanks for picking this question for the discussion Daniel! I'm going to go cry in the corner now!