Best games
Best Arcade games on Dreamcast
The 8 best Arcade games on Dreamcast, ranked from 1,605 critic and player ratings.
The best Arcade game on Dreamcast right now is Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, with a critic score of 87/100 — updated September 2026.
How this ranking is built
- Games are ranked on the aggregated critic score out of 100 imported from IGDB and Metacritic, never on Tier's own grades.
- A game only enters the ranking with at least 80 external ratings, so a single enthusiastic review never outranks a proven classic.
- Community grades from F to S are shown next to every game, and only stated as a fact above 5 Tier ratings.
- Release window covered: 1970 to 2026.
- 8 games are listed on this page, carrying 1,605 ratings between them.
- Rankings are recomputed hourly; this one was last rebuilt on 28 September 2026.
Top 8
01
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 redefined an already great game. Its addition of stellar new features (like Create-A-Park), and great game-play tweaks (the manual maneuver will be copied for years to come) made it the best installment in a killer series of games. Anyone who has ever skated the Philadelphia level will agree -- this game is a masterpiece of level design. Hell, it's a masterpiece all around. There isn't a bad park or dull moment, just pure gaming nirvana!
87
/100
02
Ikaruga
In this vertical scrolling spaceship shooter, you control a ship that can change its polarity at will. As blue/white, the ship can easily destroy red/black enemies, and vice versa. Bullets of your polarity can be collected to fuel your energy gauge, but those opposite will kill you. Destroying an enemy ship causes them to fire revenge bullets which can be absorbed and fired back by the player. Different difficulties exist to change exactly how you interact with polarized points, or how they appear. It is the spiritual successor to Radiant Silvergun, featuring similar level and boss design, as well as it's buddhism inspired themes and aesthetics. Both are directed by Hiroshi Iuchi, who also composed Ikaruga's soundtrack.
84
/100
03
Crazy Taxi (1999)
Hey hey, come on over and have some fun with Crrrrrazy Taxi! Barrel through traffic packed streets, hurdle off parking garages, and Crazy Combo your way to Crazy Money in a wild frantic race to scare up the most fares. In Crazy Taxi, time is money, and only the Craziest Cabbies come out victorious.
82
/100
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 redefined an already great game. Its addition of stellar new features (like Create-A-Park), and great game-play tweaks (the manual maneuver will be copied for years to come) made it the best installment in a killer series of games. Anyone who has ever skated the Philadelphia level will agree -- this game is a masterpiece of level design. Hell, it's a masterpiece all around. There isn't a bad park or dull moment, just pure gaming nirvana!
87
/100
02
Ikaruga
In this vertical scrolling spaceship shooter, you control a ship that can change its polarity at will. As blue/white, the ship can easily destroy red/black enemies, and vice versa. Bullets of your polarity can be collected to fuel your energy gauge, but those opposite will kill you. Destroying an enemy ship causes them to fire revenge bullets which can be absorbed and fired back by the player. Different difficulties exist to change exactly how you interact with polarized points, or how they appear. It is the spiritual successor to Radiant Silvergun, featuring similar level and boss design, as well as it's buddhism inspired themes and aesthetics. Both are directed by Hiroshi Iuchi, who also composed Ikaruga's soundtrack.
84
/100
03
Crazy Taxi (1999)
Hey hey, come on over and have some fun with Crrrrrazy Taxi! Barrel through traffic packed streets, hurdle off parking garages, and Crazy Combo your way to Crazy Money in a wild frantic race to scare up the most fares. In Crazy Taxi, time is money, and only the Craziest Cabbies come out victorious.
82
/100
04
Re-Volt
Re-Volt is an R/C car racing game from Acclaim, originally released in 1999. Re-Volt features great gameplay, realistic physics that still hold up to this day and bright and colorful visuals. It's a game aimed at people who just want to play a funky arcade racing game as well as for people who seek a more competitive challenge. It's meant for all ages and occasions: Play for yourself or in the local network with friends, or even online!
78
/100
05
Mortal Kombat 4
Mortal Kombat 4 is 1 vs 1 fighting game, similar to the other Mortal Kombat games, but this is first game in series with 3D characters models. The player can choose from 15 different fighters at the start (and several unlockables later on). Many fighters from earlier games in the series make a comeback (like Scorpion, Sub Zero, Liu Kang, Sonya Blade, Johnny Cage etc.) while other new fighters join in, like Shinook (who is the main evil character in this game), Fujin, Jarek, and Kai. Goro returns as a boss.
69
/100
06
THE KING OF FIGHTERS 2002
The game brings back the team play composed by three characters each that was a tradition in previous games. The game has also several important changes in the gameplay, like the "Free Cancel System" or "Max Mode System", the "Quick Emergency Evasion" and "Quick MAX Mode Activation", aside from the countless changes in each character's special moves and their properties.
67
/100
07
STAR WARS: Episode I Racer
Star Wars: Episode 1 - Racer lets you participate in the famous pod race sequence that was the critical highlight of the film Star Wars: Episode I, The Phantom Menace back in 1999. Take the controls as Jedi-to-be Anakin Skywalker or any one of over 20 pod racers. These lightning-quick vehicles are capable of reaching simulated speeds of up to 600 miles per hour while skimming a mere 4 feet above the ground. Feel the full-force blast while avoiding hazards such as methane lakes, meteor showers, and the notorious Tusken Raiders. You can race alone or against a friend in split-screen mode on more than 21 courses that span over 8 different worlds. This level of customization adds excellent replay value.
66
/100
08
SoulCalibur
SoulCalibur is a weapon-based 3D fighting game developed by Project Soul and produced by Namco. It is the second game in the Soul series, preceded by Soul Edge (1996). Originally released in arcades in 1998, it ran on the Namco System 12 hardware. In 1999 it was ported to the Dreamcast with improved graphics and new features. The North American version was released in September 1999 as a launch title for the Dreamcast and was part of the successful launch of the new console. It became available as a downloadable title on Xbox 360's Xbox Live Marketplace in 2008. The title brought many innovations to the fighting game genre that include a heavy emphasis on weapons and a unique eight-way movement system. Soulcalibur is widely regarded as one of the best Dreamcast titles and is one of the most critically acclaimed fighting games of all time.
60
/100
Re-Volt
Re-Volt is an R/C car racing game from Acclaim, originally released in 1999. Re-Volt features great gameplay, realistic physics that still hold up to this day and bright and colorful visuals. It's a game aimed at people who just want to play a funky arcade racing game as well as for people who seek a more competitive challenge. It's meant for all ages and occasions: Play for yourself or in the local network with friends, or even online!
78
/100
05
Mortal Kombat 4
Mortal Kombat 4 is 1 vs 1 fighting game, similar to the other Mortal Kombat games, but this is first game in series with 3D characters models. The player can choose from 15 different fighters at the start (and several unlockables later on). Many fighters from earlier games in the series make a comeback (like Scorpion, Sub Zero, Liu Kang, Sonya Blade, Johnny Cage etc.) while other new fighters join in, like Shinook (who is the main evil character in this game), Fujin, Jarek, and Kai. Goro returns as a boss.
69
/100
06
THE KING OF FIGHTERS 2002
The game brings back the team play composed by three characters each that was a tradition in previous games. The game has also several important changes in the gameplay, like the "Free Cancel System" or "Max Mode System", the "Quick Emergency Evasion" and "Quick MAX Mode Activation", aside from the countless changes in each character's special moves and their properties.
67
/100
07
STAR WARS: Episode I Racer
Star Wars: Episode 1 - Racer lets you participate in the famous pod race sequence that was the critical highlight of the film Star Wars: Episode I, The Phantom Menace back in 1999. Take the controls as Jedi-to-be Anakin Skywalker or any one of over 20 pod racers. These lightning-quick vehicles are capable of reaching simulated speeds of up to 600 miles per hour while skimming a mere 4 feet above the ground. Feel the full-force blast while avoiding hazards such as methane lakes, meteor showers, and the notorious Tusken Raiders. You can race alone or against a friend in split-screen mode on more than 21 courses that span over 8 different worlds. This level of customization adds excellent replay value.
66
/100
08
SoulCalibur
SoulCalibur is a weapon-based 3D fighting game developed by Project Soul and produced by Namco. It is the second game in the Soul series, preceded by Soul Edge (1996). Originally released in arcades in 1998, it ran on the Namco System 12 hardware. In 1999 it was ported to the Dreamcast with improved graphics and new features. The North American version was released in September 1999 as a launch title for the Dreamcast and was part of the successful launch of the new console. It became available as a downloadable title on Xbox 360's Xbox Live Marketplace in 2008. The title brought many innovations to the fighting game genre that include a heavy emphasis on weapons and a unique eight-way movement system. Soulcalibur is widely regarded as one of the best Dreamcast titles and is one of the most critically acclaimed fighting games of all time.
60
/100
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Arcade game on Dreamcast?
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 currently tops the ranking with a score of 87/100 across 412 ratings. Ranking updated September 2026.
How is this ranking built?
Games are ranked on their aggregated critic score out of 100, with a minimum vote threshold so a single glowing review never outranks a proven classic; the Tier community's own F-to-S grades are shown alongside each game.