The Dreamcast’s latest release (you read that right), The Ghost Blade won’t satisfy hardcore shoot-’em-up fans

The Dreamcast and I have a special connection when it comes to the shoot-’em ups.

My absolute favorite shooter is Takumi’s Mars Matrix, and the platform I first experienced it on was Sega’s thinking white box. The art direction has a specific, style, audio composition, and gameplay design of late ’90s shoot-’em-ups on the Dreamcast. There have been attempts on more modern platforms to capture that feeling, but the Dreamcast’s tight canvas seems to have really leant itself to these games.