Not sure if you ever played Deadly Premonition, but your explaining how Blue Stinger makes you feel reminded me of DP. Very jank, but so, so memorable.
Thanks! I've not played Deadly Premonition but I remember it getting a bit of buzz when it came out and the famous sandwich bit doing the rounds on YouTube for a while. I should play it.
Deadly Premonition's PC port ran like such shit that I spent more time trying to diagnose why it was crashing and redoing shit I'd done up to the point where it would crash than I did actually playing new parts of the game, and it's still weird and memorable enough that I'd put it at must-play. Apparently the modern fanpatches have gotten it in a slightly better state but X360 version is still probably the way to go.
For me this that shot for shot experience with the Gamecube. When Nintendo is on they're so on, and despite a plethora of great games on the ps2 I have the fondest memories of like metroid prime, REmake, Mario Sunshine, Pikmin, just that offbeat stuff that mostly you couldn't get anywhere else.
It's a shame what Sega has had going on lately, though. I think they climbed over that tipping point with the Yakuza [sic] franchise, Sonic Crosswords, even the new Shinobi where the DLC feels scummy and that value add is really getting questionable.
I would also say I have stronger, fonder memories of a lot of GameCube games: Luigi's Mansion, Mario Kart Double Dash for example and REmake has become my 3rd favourite game of all time despite me not playing it until adulthood. But the PS2 was probably the beast attrition-type console ever made; consoles like the DC or the GCN don't have 3000 games but at least half of their library is worth playing but because the PS2 has so many games, it ends up having more good ones by law of averages.
Yeah I was really frustrated by the move to the JRPG format with Yakuza. I am slowly warming to that genre but even then, it's not a gameplay style I associate with/want for that IP; I finished LaD/Yakuza 7 and decided that was going to be where my time with the main series ends. They have badly mismanaged both Total War and Football Manager too, the latter only recently but the former for about 11 years now.
This was very entertaining, I'll admit. "Blue Stinger" was a title I've seen a few times, but it meant nothing to me until this review.
I'm not sure how far deep in my backlog I'd have to dig to get around to playing it. But something I often think about, as I hunt for retro hidden gems, is that some of my all-time favorites are deeply uneven, swing-for-the-fences, sui generis games that probably deserve every bit of the C+/B- rating the broader gaming community gave them, but in my house they are A+ gems. Games like E.V.O. on SNES, for example.
So sometimes I wonder to myself, "Is there another E.V.O. out there that I'm missing? And how would I ever find it?"
AI helps with the search some, but the only way to get there, really, is to slowly work through my backlog. Which I've been doing a lot of lately.
Thank you, I'm glad. It is a game that might be more well-known now than ever, like I said, it didn't crack the top sellers on the platform but I think most people who play Dreamcast know about this one.
I'm starting to lean that way too as I get older. Modern triple-A games are mostly good fun but I crave the ambition and weirdness of quirky projects in the past; people assure me the indie scene is better but I have been unimpressed with games there too, it's a lot of the same stuff or games where the best ideas are lifted out of legacy Nintendo IP.
I get this feeling too. I first played Shenmue I and II a few years ago and I was absolutely spellbound from start to finish, I play a lot of these obscure early 3D classics chasing that feeling again.
I've never got to experience this one, but heard quite a lot about it. Great write up.
The aesthetic of anything dealing with water on Dreamcast (and the Gamecube, to be fair) is just sublime.
And I think games like this, with flaws but a clear intention of direction, are often so much more memorable than something designed to be corporately marketable and "perfect."
Cheers! I'm not sure it alone is worth digging out/grabbing a Dreamcast for but if you're not opposed to emulation or already own the console, Blue Stinger is absolutely worth a go.
Ah, back when there was much more variation between the different hardware makers, before everything was either AMD or Nvidia. I love how different every console looked in this era; the Dreamcast and GameCube have such clean, rich visuals compared to the PS2's fuzzy output, I love it too. Something about the crisp video quality and the bold colours is supremely appealing.
That's what I'm more attracted to these days as well, I've played the majority of good retro games that everyone remembers now I love hunting down the rough gems.
The Dreamcast especially just did colors so right. It's been talked to death but looking at Sonic Adventure, Code Veronica, games in general that were ported to PS2 later, they lose so much in the transition that it's crazy.
But I'd be remiss not to mention how much I can still get lost in Mario Sunshine or Wind Waker, I'm not sure we've actually progressed beyond how perfect the water looked in those games.
If and when Sega ever puts out a new console (and I truly hope they do), I'm gonna break all my rules and grab that thing day one.
There are rumours they're going to put out a handheld ROM box-type thing in future, it's not the same but I could see that being worth it too.
Oh Wind Waker is a game I have an interesting relationship with, I need to review it one of these days but I couldn't agree more on the GameCube and its summery-watery games (what else could I call them?) I have to admit that it is my least favourite console of that generation in general but its technical prowess was not a compounding issue.
Conversely, the GameCube might be shot for shot my favorite. The PS2 is far and away the best console, it just has so many great games, the bang for the buck was insane, but (and it's partly nostalgia) I have so many fond memories with that thing and the titles I played on it.
Honestly I'd buy whatever they put out just because it's Sega. The Genesis Mini was a meh deal in the west even when it came out but I still love the thing, I just want them to know we want more cool stuff and I give a lot more leeway to Sega than I would other companies in that regard.
I guess the console wars never truly ended for me.
I have a weird relationship with the GameCube. I spent the better part of 15 years telling everybody it was better than the PS2 but then I got back into it in the past decade and I actually don't like most of Nintendo's GameCube games very much though it is a great place to play survival-horror games and I still love plenty about it; the least among equals. It was my first home console so I will always have fondness for it.
I have similar sentiments. Something about Sega just hits different and historically, they were always looking out for your wallet and revising consoles to make them cheaper.
Not sure if you ever played Deadly Premonition, but your explaining how Blue Stinger makes you feel reminded me of DP. Very jank, but so, so memorable.
Thanks for the article!
Thanks! I've not played Deadly Premonition but I remember it getting a bit of buzz when it came out and the famous sandwich bit doing the rounds on YouTube for a while. I should play it.
Deadly Premonition's PC port ran like such shit that I spent more time trying to diagnose why it was crashing and redoing shit I'd done up to the point where it would crash than I did actually playing new parts of the game, and it's still weird and memorable enough that I'd put it at must-play. Apparently the modern fanpatches have gotten it in a slightly better state but X360 version is still probably the way to go.
I still have a 360 in good working order, I'll grab it for that then.
Never knew about the PC port being trash, but X360 and PS3 ports are solid… as much as DP can be solid anyway.
For me this that shot for shot experience with the Gamecube. When Nintendo is on they're so on, and despite a plethora of great games on the ps2 I have the fondest memories of like metroid prime, REmake, Mario Sunshine, Pikmin, just that offbeat stuff that mostly you couldn't get anywhere else.
It's a shame what Sega has had going on lately, though. I think they climbed over that tipping point with the Yakuza [sic] franchise, Sonic Crosswords, even the new Shinobi where the DLC feels scummy and that value add is really getting questionable.
I would also say I have stronger, fonder memories of a lot of GameCube games: Luigi's Mansion, Mario Kart Double Dash for example and REmake has become my 3rd favourite game of all time despite me not playing it until adulthood. But the PS2 was probably the beast attrition-type console ever made; consoles like the DC or the GCN don't have 3000 games but at least half of their library is worth playing but because the PS2 has so many games, it ends up having more good ones by law of averages.
Yeah I was really frustrated by the move to the JRPG format with Yakuza. I am slowly warming to that genre but even then, it's not a gameplay style I associate with/want for that IP; I finished LaD/Yakuza 7 and decided that was going to be where my time with the main series ends. They have badly mismanaged both Total War and Football Manager too, the latter only recently but the former for about 11 years now.
This was very entertaining, I'll admit. "Blue Stinger" was a title I've seen a few times, but it meant nothing to me until this review.
I'm not sure how far deep in my backlog I'd have to dig to get around to playing it. But something I often think about, as I hunt for retro hidden gems, is that some of my all-time favorites are deeply uneven, swing-for-the-fences, sui generis games that probably deserve every bit of the C+/B- rating the broader gaming community gave them, but in my house they are A+ gems. Games like E.V.O. on SNES, for example.
So sometimes I wonder to myself, "Is there another E.V.O. out there that I'm missing? And how would I ever find it?"
AI helps with the search some, but the only way to get there, really, is to slowly work through my backlog. Which I've been doing a lot of lately.
Thank you, I'm glad. It is a game that might be more well-known now than ever, like I said, it didn't crack the top sellers on the platform but I think most people who play Dreamcast know about this one.
I'm starting to lean that way too as I get older. Modern triple-A games are mostly good fun but I crave the ambition and weirdness of quirky projects in the past; people assure me the indie scene is better but I have been unimpressed with games there too, it's a lot of the same stuff or games where the best ideas are lifted out of legacy Nintendo IP.
I get this feeling too. I first played Shenmue I and II a few years ago and I was absolutely spellbound from start to finish, I play a lot of these obscure early 3D classics chasing that feeling again.
Oh man, my memories of what the game looked like versus these actual screenshots lol
This was me with Sonic Adventure as well lol visually appealing but not cutting edge
I've never got to experience this one, but heard quite a lot about it. Great write up.
The aesthetic of anything dealing with water on Dreamcast (and the Gamecube, to be fair) is just sublime.
And I think games like this, with flaws but a clear intention of direction, are often so much more memorable than something designed to be corporately marketable and "perfect."
But that could just be the hipster in me.
Cheers! I'm not sure it alone is worth digging out/grabbing a Dreamcast for but if you're not opposed to emulation or already own the console, Blue Stinger is absolutely worth a go.
Ah, back when there was much more variation between the different hardware makers, before everything was either AMD or Nvidia. I love how different every console looked in this era; the Dreamcast and GameCube have such clean, rich visuals compared to the PS2's fuzzy output, I love it too. Something about the crisp video quality and the bold colours is supremely appealing.
That's what I'm more attracted to these days as well, I've played the majority of good retro games that everyone remembers now I love hunting down the rough gems.
The Dreamcast especially just did colors so right. It's been talked to death but looking at Sonic Adventure, Code Veronica, games in general that were ported to PS2 later, they lose so much in the transition that it's crazy.
But I'd be remiss not to mention how much I can still get lost in Mario Sunshine or Wind Waker, I'm not sure we've actually progressed beyond how perfect the water looked in those games.
If and when Sega ever puts out a new console (and I truly hope they do), I'm gonna break all my rules and grab that thing day one.
There are rumours they're going to put out a handheld ROM box-type thing in future, it's not the same but I could see that being worth it too.
Oh Wind Waker is a game I have an interesting relationship with, I need to review it one of these days but I couldn't agree more on the GameCube and its summery-watery games (what else could I call them?) I have to admit that it is my least favourite console of that generation in general but its technical prowess was not a compounding issue.
Conversely, the GameCube might be shot for shot my favorite. The PS2 is far and away the best console, it just has so many great games, the bang for the buck was insane, but (and it's partly nostalgia) I have so many fond memories with that thing and the titles I played on it.
Honestly I'd buy whatever they put out just because it's Sega. The Genesis Mini was a meh deal in the west even when it came out but I still love the thing, I just want them to know we want more cool stuff and I give a lot more leeway to Sega than I would other companies in that regard.
I guess the console wars never truly ended for me.
I have a weird relationship with the GameCube. I spent the better part of 15 years telling everybody it was better than the PS2 but then I got back into it in the past decade and I actually don't like most of Nintendo's GameCube games very much though it is a great place to play survival-horror games and I still love plenty about it; the least among equals. It was my first home console so I will always have fondness for it.
I have similar sentiments. Something about Sega just hits different and historically, they were always looking out for your wallet and revising consoles to make them cheaper.