D2: Disc 4 won't boot

[zonks]

I recently bought D2 for the Dreamcast, used. Discs 1, 2, 3 all boot to the game's title screen like normal.

Disc 4 does not. It goes to the white "Licensed by Sega" screen but returns to the main menu afterwards -- but notice, not the CD player screen. So I think it recognizes it as a valid GD-ROM and not a bad disc.

If I choose 'Opening Movie' from any of disc 1,2,3, which in turn prompts to insert disc 4, the opening movie plays from disc 4 without problems.

So is this normal? Does disc 4 just have a movie so it isn't supposed to boot and be playable? I don't have the instruction manual to confirm this. I want to make sure disc 4 is OK.

[Neohound]

Disc four holds the opening movie only. Strange I know ! Once you've played the opening movie then go ahead and play the game on discs 1,2 &3.

I really like the music in the game and especially the title music on disc 4. Very haunting and beautiful.

Anyway, hope you enjoy the game. I loved it when I first played it.

[zonks]

Disc four holds the opening movie only. Strange I know ! Once you've played the opening movie then go ahead and play the game on discs 1,2 &3.

I think you are right. I tried loading somebody's Disc 3 save that was at the end and it prompted me to enter Disc 4 where the game continued. I didn't play much further as to avoid spoilers.

I really like the music in the game and especially the title music on disc 4. Very haunting and beautiful.

Hmm, just wondering, isn't there no title screen/title music on disc 4 as it can't boot directly?

Anyway, hope you enjoy the game. I loved it when I first played it.

I am! It's like nothing else I've played. WARP makes some weird and incredible games.

[Neohound]

Glad you're enjoying the game. I agree WARP had some great ideas on how to make games. Kenji Eno was always looking for ways to expand the appeal of games to all kinds of people, including the deaf and blind. I think he's missed by the games industry. Fumito Ueada, of WARP, went on to make ICO on ps2 but the rest of the team don't seem to have done much since D2.

I'm not sure what you mean when you say disc4 won't boot. It should boot to a title screen which has a blood-drenched D2 logo at the centre. This logo should be movable via your controller. It sounds like your disc could be faulty ?

[zonks]

I'm not sure what you mean when you say disc4 won't boot. It should boot to a title screen which has a blood-drenched D2 logo at the centre. This logo should be movable via your controller. It sounds like your disc could be faulty ?

It turned out the disc was bad -- the cutscene of Laura entering the elevator at the laboratory would repeat forever. I had to use a CD-R of Disc 4 to continue. I guess three working GD-ROMs out of four is okay.

I did find that you could load a Disc 4 save from any disc and then it would prompt you to swap discs, which helped as Disc 4 wouldn't boot directly. Maybe that will be helpful to somebody.

The ending was a little disappointing as not much was explained about the game -- still a lot of unanswered questions. But wow, what a great game. Definitely one of the top ten Dreamcast titles out there. I know Eno is done with videogames, but I'd love to see a remake or sequel someday.

[Neohound]

Well at least you were able to complete it despite your disappointment at how it concludes. You've got to admit that it was an epic ending though surely ?!

That final boss followed by all the video sequences was a pretty awsome spectacle when I first played it, I hadn't come across anything so special, though undoubtedly ambiguous, before.

In your top ten of DC games, that's high praise indeed. I think I might agree with you there.

[zonks]

Well at least you were able to complete it despite your disappointment at how it concludes. You've got to admit that it was an epic ending though surely ?!

Oh yeah, given the darker twists and turns in the game I fully expected a 'bummer' ending, and they really delivered with a good one. The only character who's fate isn't resolved is Parker, but given the leap back in time one can assume he's still alive and well at CETI. I think you even see Jannie running alongside that other kid in the book store, unless they just re-used the model. The use of video clips and statistics in the end was also very effective.

The last game I played that had a storyline this confusing -- and compelling -- was Killer 7, but by the time that game is over you learn enough to understand everything that went on. With D2 there were aspects that didn't get explored any further, and I assumed they would have been. Perhaps the game just needed more exposition and it's not really a fault of the ending. I would liked to have known why Kim locked Laura in the freezer, why she killed Tom and the first terrorist, why the Great Shadow melted Jannie outright but gave Laura a chance to leave, etc. I also wasn't sure if Laura's biological father was supposed to be another species of human, or an angel, or an extraterrestrial, or what. The game is still very satisfying without knowing these things.

[TeamXlink]

This game sounds great, I've been meaning to pick it up for a while, now.

[Neohound]

zonks,

Yep, I spent a fair bit of time scratching my head after finishing the game ! So many questions remained unanswered. Maybe there was a sequel planned ? Was there anything in the original game on the Saturn that spreads more light on the story ?

I just thought of something ! Are you up for doing a review ? I would myself but I'm not good enough or brave enough to attempt it lol

Anyway it's been fun talking about the game with you, hopefully it convinces other people to give it a try. Like TeamXlink for example ! (you posted just before I did ! lol).