To me it was the first system that did 3D (polygonal) games right. I remember finding Ocarina of Time, Virtua Fighter and Metal gear Solid very ugly to look at. So when Dreamcast launched with Soul Calibur the difference was massive. I even remember playing a freaking NFL game simply because the visual difference between it and PS1 version were so vast.

Of course, the PS2, GC and XB followed and delivered same quality visuals or better so the wow factor had subsided. I would say Generation 6 was the deepest generation we will ever see with four quality consoles.

It was good, it was fun, but not really memorable. The only thing I really remember was that I had mine modded with every game pirated.

Two questions: did you play Shenmue yourself? And, also, what other games did you own?

I played "Shenmue" two days ago, I loved it way back when and it's held up pretty well today. As for arcade ports, I had a few: "Virtua Fighter 3", "Soul Caliber", and "House of the Dead 2" come to mind. I also had games like "Jet Grind Radio", "Sword of the Berserk",  and "Skies of Arcadia" in addition to "Sonic Adventure 1&2" and "Shenmue". 

I've also heard that "Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver" on Dreamcast was the definitive version (I'm about to find out, too. I just ordered a copy on eBay). 

No, It's still one of the best consoles ever made. it did not fail ,Sega ran out of money and the new president wanted to focus on the panchinko business Sega Ran , even though it is said that the previous President before dying left his fortune in stocks and shares to Sega on the grounds that they continue with Dreamcast. Basically they went against a dying mans wishes from what i have found out.

I play Dreamcast all the time ,games are still made for it by some great indies and there are five or six games coming this year..

Me I'm a old school gamer , and for many of us this was the best time for consoles.

The Wii U is the most exciting console to come out since the Dreamcast ,but maybe modern gamers are boring ,they just like COD,Assassins Creed and games which hold your hand while you play. Back in the 90's all the consoles ,Sega,Sony, Nintendo and even the first Xbox had games for real gamers..

The sixth generation of consoles was the best and will stand the test of time as the greatest console generation ever. It's the only time i have ever purchased all the consoles of the generation ,i have even the Ill fated Atari Jaguar which sold a meager 250'000 world wide plus the toilet seat looking CD add on which i think only 50'000 where made.

Maybe we need a shake up next generation , maybe the likes of LG ,Samsung should enter the game. Roll on Gen 9.

Did it ? I always thought it was not as good. Sure, GTA 3/etc./etc. were super impressive and novative, and I believe it was not achievable on the DC, but PS2 games had mostly blurry, greyed, and repetitive texture associated with an extrem aliasing. And I believe it's fact, as the DC had 8 MB for the graphic card, with texture compression and modern effects, while the PS2 had 4 MB, no compression, and plain textures with outdated limitations in term of size and color.

How can it be overrated when nobody talks about it?

I did play Shenmue for a few days but never finished it. I remember just being bored moving crates/forklift driving so I stopped playing.

Games I owned/played were(from memory) Virtua Fighter 3TB, Sonic Adventure, House of the Dead 2, Power Stones 2, Street Fighter Alpha 3, Marverl VS Capcom, Jet Set Radio, Spawn(arcade port, I remember it sucked), Crazy Taxi, Capcom vs SNK, Code Veronica, DOA2. I think that is it.

It was great at the time but after its death, all of the big games got scattered amongst the PS2, Xbox, and GameCube.

But even now, my PS2 and GameCube libraries are mostly unplayable and the games I fondly remembered on SNES, N64, and NES (Ouya emulation) are nowhere near as good as I remembered. What isn't remembered through nostalgia goggles?

As a DC owner, yes. It exploded onto the faming scene with unrivaled visuals, but the hype died quickly as most of its library were arcade ports.

VGA boxes being expensive back in the day or today?

Because you do not really need a VGA box unless you cant be bothered to change the cable for the handful of games that dont support VGA.
I just use a normal VGA cable for less than $20. And the image is amazing on my crappy 2003 PC monitor (fuck LCD) which is completely dirty and was in our garage for at least 7 years.


This is how it looks on my monitor.
Without jpeg compression and in person this looks even more amazing especially in motion.

Be sure to view in seperate window to see the actual image quality (taken with my camera)