Blue Stinger

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Climax Entertainment

Blue Stinger was Activision’s attempt at survival horror…and it’s rather uneventful and lacking in any horror aside from the fact that mutated creatures continuously attack you…mutated creatures that aren’t very difficult to kill and that drop money, for you to buy ammunition and items that replenish your health so that it’s near impossible for most creatures to pose any serious threat to you. Horrifying, isn’t it? While Blue Stinger isn’t necessarily a “bad” game (and I do find this game to be a guilty pleasure of mine) I don’t think many people would place this in their favorite survival horror games of all-time list. Maybe if you love games with a horror theme that take place during Christmas Eve and/or Christmas Day…this game takes place on both days…or if you want all the bad voice acting from the original Resident Evil, but without much of the challenge or thrills, then maybe Blue Stinger will be right up your alley. For most folks, though, I think Blue Stinger will be seen as a passable, but uneventful experience.

Review added: 04/25/2019

Boku no Tennis Jinsei

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Bimboosoft

This game is pretty bland, especially considering that the incredible Virtua Tennis was released a year before this game and is still superior to it in absolutely every way. Basically, Boku no Tennis Jinsei has some super-deformed characters to play as, or you can create your own super-deformed character and build up their stats in a career mode of sorts. That may sound kind of neat, but unfortunately once the action on the court begins, it's not a particularly fun experience. Again, had Virtua Tennis not been released a year before this game, then maybe I'd be a little more forgiving of its shortcomings...but since Virtua Tennis raised the bar for tennis games upon its release, I can't honestly say that this game reaches that bar in any way. It's not the worst rendition of tennis that I've played before, but this Japanese import is still just shy of me considering it a passable game. If you're obsessed with tennis and don't mind taking a step down from better games in the genre to play this, you may find some fun here. Everyone else is probably better off passing on this one unless you’re absolutely obsessed with the sport.

Review added: 12/07/2022

Bomerman Online

Also known as: N/A

Developer: h.a.n.d Inc.

Saturn Bomberman, in my opinion, is the greatest Bomberman game ever made. Bomberman Online was seemingly the attempt to top it...and while it's a very good game, it doesn't quite reach that level. Like Saturn Bomberman before it, Bomberman Online allows players to battle against other players both online and locally and while this game is fun, it doesn't really add a whole lot to the successful Saturn Bomberman formula aside from having cel-shaded graphics and the ability to make a Bomberwoman to play as. That's not necessarily a bad thing, mind you. Doing most of the same things as the greatest game in the franchise still results in a good game. But Bomberman Online doesn’t really do any of it better, so it fails to surpass the game that came before it. Bomberman Online is a very solid entry in the franchise, it just lacks enough innovation for it to be very memorable in comparison to other games in the series.

Review added: 03/30/2019

Border Down

Also known as: N/A

Developer: G. Rev

Border Down was a scrolling, bullet-hell shooter, exclusive to Japan. It was released after the rest of the world had already stopped making Dreamcast games, in 2003. If you’re wondering where the “Border Down” name came from, it’s essentially how lives are handled in the game. There are three “borders” – green, yellow, and red. If you start in the green border and die, you drop down to the yellow, then to the red. If you die in the red border, it’s game over. Each border is different, so essentially, there are three paths to take within the game…if you’re skilled enough to not die, you may be in the green border the whole time. Most of us will spend time in all three borders as we play. While I like Border Down and consider it to be a solid, scrolling shooter, I also feel that there are better scrolling shooters to play on the Dreamcast. But if you can’t get enough of scrolling shooter action or would rather play a horizontal scrolling shooter instead of a vertical scrolling shooter, Border Down will still provide you with plenty of fun.

Review added: 04/15/2019