dreamcastdinosaur

Dreamcast Dinosaur

The Dreamcast isn't a dinosaur, but you can play one on TV!

Disney's Dinosaur is one of the lesser known games for the Sega Dreamcast. The lack of attention could be because, although named after a children's movie, the first screen is infuriatingly hard even for adults. If you've tried the game and given up, this document is for you.

Dinosaur Quick Start

Disney's Dinosaur is surprisingly fun once you figure out that the first stage is supposed to be a tutorial.

After you feed the fruit to the Talarurus, the screen will briefly say "To transfer control to Aladar, Zini, or Flia press the Right Hand Trigger." What the game doesn't tell you is that this is not a tip, it's a command. You must switch to each character before you can continue. Use the right trigger three times.

Once you do that, the game will say, "Group together again by pressing on the two triggers." This is also a command, not a tip. Fly the pterodactyl over the iguanadon and press both triggers to group them together. The screen will say, "Semi Collective Mode" because you're controlling two of the three characters. Now move them both over to the lemur and press the two triggers again. The screen will say "Collective Mode" and then "Well done! You can continue on your way!"

When you head towards the burning wall of fire, it will disappear.

Pterodactyl Tips

One of the hardest things at the start of the game is learning how to control the pterodactyl. Here's what I found helpful. The pterodactyl will automatically fly in a circle when you are not pressing any direction, you may feel out of control, but just ignore it. When performing actions, like grabbing or attacking, it helps to move away from the target so that you can fly straight at it while holding down the action button. Releasing the button will abort the action, which can be useful if an enemy suddenly turns around to maul you while you're in the middle of a dive.

Is It Worth It?

If you've seen the mediocre Disney movie that inspired it or the PlayStation game of the same name, you might pass up Disney's Dinosaur. Don't. While I wouldn't pay a lot of money for it, this is a game that's worth playing.

The game was made exclusively for the Dreamcast and it shows in the lush graphics. The puzzles, while not overly difficult, are enjoyable and there are many hidden areas and optional routes. Do you sneak around the raptor or throw rocks at it to level up your lemur? While you can beat some levels fairly quickly, I find it rewarding to replay them until I get 100% marks for secrets and experience points.