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I've been looking at some DC peripherals lately and wondering which would get more use in the long run. I'm mostly wanting to properly play the games that work best with alternate control schemes (Outtrigger in particular). I've read that the twin sticks work quite well with many of these games, and I thought that might be an interesting alternative to the mouse + keyboard setup. For people who have these peripherals, which would you say will be the most advantageous to have? Both are sadly fairly expensive at this point, so I'll likely go for one or the other.

Keyboard and mouse

I guess it really depends upon the games you're looking to use them with.

Quake III and Unreal Tournament were some of my earliest purchases, so the mouse and keyboard were pretty essential for those. Plus, the keyboard gets some use for online chat.

My mouse was fairly expensive at about £35, but I managed to grab a keyboard at a local retro games store for about £12. It was pretty grubby, but after a deep clean it's as good as new. Hopefully if you keep your eyes peeled, you can get whichever option you're interested in for a decent price.

I think there might be a ps/2 mouse and keyboard converter out there. I remember seeing one on amazon a few years back. might save save you a few bucks

I'd go for the keyboard. Very useful for any online gaming you do, for chatting, and the handful of games that support keyboard as an input like the FPS games or Typing of the Dead. Twin Sticks isn't used by much, you might want them if you really want an authentic arcade experience for Virtual On, and I think I heard they are supported in Outrigger, but you'll get more bang for the buck with a keyboard - mouse is not needed unless you want to use for FPS games that support mouse+keyboard.

Keyboard and mouse all the way.

There are some great games on Dreamcast that supports it, also if you are into old school gaming , there are alot of great games strategy/rpg perfectly playable on Amiga.

The emulator uae4all by chui that is improved by Ian Micheal runs alot of great oldies such as Syndicate ,Cannon Fodder , sim city , civilisation etc etc

If we take the "investment" factor literally, the twin stick being more scarce will appreciate more in value over time. Buy now, sell in 5-10 yrs and put some extra money in the pocket. If it comes to 1st-person-shooters, then the mouse-keyboard combo simply cannot be beaten. There should be some adaptor options out there to avoid paying the premium for the Dreamcast-specific stuff.

dark wrote:I'd go for the keyboard. Very useful for any online gaming you do, for chatting, and the handful of games that support keyboard as an input like the FPS games or Typing of the Dead.

How could I forget Typing of the Dead! Essential purchase if you choose to get a keyboard.

Caspian wrote:If we take the "investment" factor literally, the twin stick being more scarce will appreciate more in value over time. Buy now, sell in 5-10 yrs and put some extra money in the pocket. If it comes to 1st-person-shooters, then the mouse-keyboard combo simply cannot be beaten. There should be some adaptor options out there to avoid paying the premium for the Dreamcast-specific stuff.

Agreed. If literally investment, the Twin Stick. If getting most for your money, a keyboard and mouse. That said, a lot of indie devs have been using the Twin Stick, and in games that need, in my opinion, a second analog stick, the Twin Stick is heavenly.