Dreamcast Games Now Have Achievements

The day has come: Dreamcast games now have achievements.

The likes of Sonic Adventure, Power Stone and Soulcalibur now have achievements which can be earned on about any device going.

That’s thanks to the power of Retroachievements, which add the winnable digital trophies to older games.

The Dreamcast achievements launched on Saturday alongside some of the biggest hitters on the console.

Fans have built the achievements, which can be accessed through Dreamcast emulator Flycast as part of Retroarch.

Like with achievements on consoles and PC, you unlock them by fulfilling certain criteria within the game. That might be finishing certain levels. It could be unlocking characters. Or it might be something absolutely insane.

Why Dreamcast Was the Best

This is the first time a console from that generation has received achievements. It paves the way for PlayStation 2, GameCube and the original Xbox.

Which is as true for Retroachievements as it was for the real consoles. Dreamcast was ahead of its time in so many ways. Which is why it’s such a shame it died so early.

The graphics were incredible. Playing Sonic Adventure in 4k shows how far ahead of its time it was in many ways.

Granted, some of the animations are meme-worthy. But it’s hard to knock how things look when rendered at a decent resolution. I still say Sonic Adventure is about as next-gen as games have ever felt.

There was also an option to use internet for some things, a feature that wouldn’t become especially important until the next generation.

But mostly it was the games. While the PS2 is remembered for its incredible catalogue, the Dreamcast had a more unusual offering. It’s most famous games are about as good as it gets – especially if you have a tolerance for some old game jank – but it has a deeper catalogue of stranger things too.

And now for fans who missed the great console back in the day, now there’s the chance to give it another go with a modern feature – Retroachievements.