Dreamcast-Talk.com

Despite its short lifespan, the Dreamcast ultimately had an impressive range of peripherals released for it - everything from fighting pads and racing wheels to fishing rods and maracas.

The question is, do you have a favourite peripheral - for example, one that you find improves your gameplay experience, or just makes for a fun and novel time?

(This topic is more inclined towards controllers and accessories rather than the VMU, but if you feel particularly strongly about the VMU, or you have a curious alternative to it that you enjoy, fire away!)

I've recently gotten the ASCII fighting pad to play the Gens4Dreams emulator, and it makes for a great and authentic experience. Playing with the regular pad was okay, but many know that its d-pad isn't particularly optimal. The ASCII pad on the other hand has some great digital buttons, and feels pretty close to a Mega Drive or Saturn pad for that classic feel.

Anyone who's seen my recent racing wheel posts will also know that I'm on the hunt for an elusive (impossible?) great Dreamcast racing wheel! The Thrustmaster Ferrari wasn't up to snuff but I've recently ordered the official/Agetec Racing Controller, and I'm looking into performing the Benryves mod to remove the deadzone. I'm hoping this will result in the most enjoyable way to play the Dreamcast's brilliant racing library.

I guess the question is: is most used and favorite the same thing?

Outside of the standard DC controller (and VMU), my most used and therefore favorite accessory is the official arcade stick. With the glut of shooters and fighting games, even retro games on compilations the DC has, it's a must own.

But, if I separate favorite from most used, it might be the official DC Twin Stick, if anything because it has been really embraced by indie devs in recent years. Game like 'Xenocider' and 'Xeno Crisis' play best on Dreamcast with the Twin Stick in my opinion.

A special shout out to the ASCII Flight controller though. It really does make flight games way more enjoyable, and is definitely the way to play (most) flight games on the DC.

Londinium wrote:Dreamcast fleshlight

Does it have a VM slot for the Vibration Pack?

DCGX wrote:I guess the question is: is most used and favorite the same thing?

Outside of the standard DC controller (and VMU), my most used and therefore favorite accessory is the official arcade stick. With the glut of shooters and fighting games, even retro games on compilations the DC has, it's a must own.

But, if I separate favorite from most used, it might be the official DC Twin Stick, if anything because it has been really embraced by indie devs in recent years. Game like 'Xenocider' and 'Xeno Crisis' play best on Dreamcast with the Twin Stick in my opinion.

A special shout out to the ASCII Flight controller though. It really does make flight games way more enjoyable, and is definitely the way to play (most) flight games on the DC.

You make a good point about most used/favourite - I often point out the same thing when people are discussing best/favourite.

The arcade stick definitely looks cool, and seems really popular! I might have a play with MAME and see if it would be worth getting one for that. The flight stick is tempting too, though I'll need to see how many flight games I ultimately end up owning.

If you're used to sticks with softer/less travel like Hayabusa, it'll be a an adjustment. The official stick is definitely more like Sanwa and Happ.

There's quite a few flight games, so it made the price (when I bought it) of the ASCII flight stick worth it. 'Airforce Delta,' the 'Aerowings'/'Aero Dancing' series (with a couple Japanese only releases) and 'Iron Aces.' I never tried it with 'Propeller Arena' though. I need to do that.

OlivusPrime wrote:

Londinium wrote:Dreamcast fleshlight

Does it have a VM slot for the Vibration Pack?

Yes, and it's absolutely necessary for the peripheral. Experience is worse without it.

The official dreamcast arcade stick and the maracas.

DCGX wrote:I guess the question is: is most used and favorite the same thing?

Outside of the standard DC controller (and VMU), my most used and therefore favorite accessory is the official arcade stick. With the glut of shooters and fighting games, even retro games on compilations the DC has, it's a must own.

But, if I separate favorite from most used, it might be the official DC Twin Stick, if anything because it has been really embraced by indie devs in recent years. Game like 'Xenocider' and 'Xeno Crisis' play best on Dreamcast with the Twin Stick in my opinion.

A special shout out to the ASCII Flight controller though. It really does make flight games way more enjoyable, and is definitely the way to play (most) flight games on the DC.

You should try playing Armada with the flight controller, it feels like the game was made with its layout in mind

mazonemayu wrote:

DCGX wrote:I guess the question is: is most used and favorite the same thing?

Outside of the standard DC controller (and VMU), my most used and therefore favorite accessory is the official arcade stick. With the glut of shooters and fighting games, even retro games on compilations the DC has, it's a must own.

But, if I separate favorite from most used, it might be the official DC Twin Stick, if anything because it has been really embraced by indie devs in recent years. Game like 'Xenocider' and 'Xeno Crisis' play best on Dreamcast with the Twin Stick in my opinion.

A special shout out to the ASCII Flight controller though. It really does make flight games way more enjoyable, and is definitely the way to play (most) flight games on the DC.

You should try playing Armada with the flight controller, it feels like the game was made with its layout in mind

Oh good idea! I'll try that!

There are a lot of amazing peripherals for the DC. I would have to say the mouse i get use and my favorite has to be the Keyboard and Mouse. I still use it often for the typing games, Quake 3 and Unreal. I think out of all the peripherals that it has the most use for me personally. So many great games used them and would be very hard to play with a normal controller without one.