The 25 Best Sega Dreamcast Games of All-Time
(Image credit: Future)
The best Dreamcast games are as fantastic as they are diverse. While the Sega Dreamcast didn’t have the longest shelf life, it did leave one hell of an impression. That’s because of the work Sega put into ensuring this revolutionary console was packed with incredible releases. Be it legendary arcade ports of games like Crazy Taxi and Virtua Tennis, influential single-player experiences like Shenmue and Resident Evil – Code: Veronica, truly experimental games such as Seaman and Jet Set Radio, and so much more. If you can get your hands on a console now, this list of the best Sega Dreamcast games is a good guide to help you get started with a collection.
Of course, some of the best Sega Dreamcast games aren’t cheap these days. That might be because of how quickly the system faded from view – released in 1998, the Dreamcast was ultimately discontinued just two years later. So while the Dreamcast is often remembered as the console killed by the PlayStation 2, we prefer to remember it for what it was: a machine that was ahead of its time, something you’ll see reflected in our pick of the best Dreamcast games.
For more definitive rankings of SEGA games throughout the years:
| Best Sega Master System Games | Best Sega Genesis Games | Best Sega Game Gear Games | Best Sega Saturn Games |
25. Headhunter
(Image credit: Sega)
Developer: Amuze
Released: 2001
There aren’t many options for stealth action on the Dreamcast, but Headhunter scratches that itch nicely. You play as Jack Wade, a top-class bounty hunter who wakes up in hospital with an unfortunate case of amnesia. Learning that his former boss in the Anti-Crime Network has been killed, he sets out to solve both mysteries. The game does a great job of showing what the Dreamcast was capable of visually, and the award-winning soundtrack by Richard Jacques is just as impressive. Best of all, the plot has plenty of twists and turns that’ll keep you hooked to the very end.
24. Seaman
(Image credit: Sega)
Developer: Vivarium
Released: 1999
The Dreamcast is renowned for hosting some bizarre and innovative games, and this virtual pet game designed by Yoot Saito is one of the strangest.
Seaman requires you to raise a fish with a human face, by ensuring that its tank is kept clean and appropriately warm, and interacting with it – which includes using the Dreamcast microphone to talk to it. Of course, the Seaman isn’t particularly pleasant to look at, and it can be rather condescending and outright insulting to converse with, but that’s all part of the game’s very weird charm. Oh, and Leonard Nimoy’s the narrator, too.
23. Sega Bass Fishing
(Image credit: Sega)
Developer: Sega
Released: 1999
Sega’s arcade teams seemed to be capable of making just about anything fun in the Dreamcast years, and Sega Bass Fishing – originally known as Get Bass in the arcades – is ample proof of that. Far from the rather placid atmosphere of past fishing games, this game is all action. You feel the pressure of being constantly against the clock, with your fisherman anxiously exhorting the fish to “bite it!” and rock music kicking in when it does, providing the perfect soundtrack as you fight to reel it in.
It’s great however you play, but the fishing rod controller – yes, really – makes it unmissable.
22. Space Channel 5
Developer: United Game Artists
Released: 1999
The Morolians have invaded, and they’re forcing humans to dance! As intergalactic news reporter Ulala, it’s your job to match the Morolians move for move before zapping them and liberating their captives. Space Channel 5 has a real 60s vibes to it, from the music to the retro-futurism of the various locations you’ll visit, and some memorable characters like Jaguar and Pudding. Plus, it’s always amazing to see a huge group of rescued people dancing along behind Ulala. It’s definitely a short but sweet game and one that’s unlikely to see any future ports because of the FMV-based backgrounds.
21. Quake 3 Arena
(Image credit: id Software)
Developer: id Software
Released: 2000
Sega chose to market Dreamcast’s online gaming capability heavily, and at the time there was no FPS that could surpass Quake 3 in that regard.
The third game in the series stripped back the single-player component to a series of games against bots, concentrating on the frantic multiplayer matches the series had become known for. The Dreamcast successfully delivered that experience to console players, with the online play surpassing what could be done with split-screen at the time. It was even possible to play against PC players who had the Dreamcast map pack installed. The game is back online today too, thanks to dedicated fans.
20. ChuChu Rocket!
(Image credit: Sega)
Developer: Sonic Team
Released: 1999
Sonic Team’s puzzle game looks simple, and it sounds so simple too – get the mice into the rockets, while avoiding all the hungry cats. Of course, it could never be that easy, and dozens of fiendish stages make this tricky in the single-player puzzle mode. However, the game was designed to show off the Dreamcast’s online multiplayer capabilities and it really becomes frantic when four players are battling it out to get the most mice – expect sabotage as your mice are redirected and cats are pointed at your rockets.
While fans have stepped in to provide servers, you can also play with four players locally.
19. NFL 2K2
(Image credit: Sega)
Developer: Visual Concepts
Released: 2001
While EA never brought its Madden games to the Dreamcast, Visual Concepts turned in superb efforts that meant that they were never really missed. NFL 2K2 was the final game in the series to be released on the Dreamcast, and offered all of the options you could want off the field, with an improved running game finally matching the series’ signature Maximum Passing mechanic. The previous games always looked the part in action and 2K2 was no different, and it boasted some insightful commentary too. Best of all, the game offered online play, which has now been revived by Dreamcast enthusiasts.
18. Samba de Amigo
(Image credit: Sega)
Developer: Sonic Team
Released: 1999
Long before the likes of Guitar Hero and Rock Band flooded houses with plastic instruments, Sonic Team was bringing music game action to Dreamcast owners with some rather pricey maracas.
Like those later games, Samba de Amigo is still perfect for a party – the colorful on-screen action perfectly compliments the Latin sounds, and there’s a good amount of music to choose from. In fact, if you pick up the Ver. 2000 version from Japan, there are plenty of extra songs too. Just be prepared to spend some money if you want it, as it doesn’t come cheap these days.
17. Dead or Alive 2
Developer: Tema Ninja
Released: 2000
If you want extreme action in your fighting games, Tecmo has you covered. Combatants get smashed through windows, flung into exploding walls and knocked off high ledges, and then get back up for more. Just when it looks like victory is assured, the fighter on the back foot catches a punch and turns it into a devastating throw. Watching a good round of Dead Or Alive 2 is like watching a crazy choreographed fight in a movie – but the real genius is that it’s very accessible, with few complex systems and counter moves that can be performed with the d-pad and one button.
16. Sonic Adventure
(Image credit: Sega)
Developer: Sonic Team
Released: 1998
Sonic Team was on a mission to show what exactly the Dreamcast could do, and the result was a highly ambitious game with ideas to spare. Each of the game’s six characters experiences the stages in a different way, from Sonic’s standard platforming to Knuckles’ treasure hunting, E-102’s shooting, and of course, fishing with Big. The blue blur’s first true 3D adventure undoubtedly has some technical rough edges, but if you can look beyond those, you’ll be rewarded with stages that are far more elaborate and imaginative than in many later Sonic games.
15. Power Stone 2
(Image credit: Eidos)
Developer: Capcom
Released: 2000
What could be better than the chaotic brawls of Power Stone? Clearly, the chaotic four-player brawls of Power Stone 2. The second game features all the same chair-chucking, sword-slashing action of the original, but adds a couple of extra fighters per stage to the mix in order to really ramp up the carnage.
That would already make it an all-time classic multiplayer game, but Capcom went a step further by creating some crazy stages that incorporate platforming, chases, and even skydiving. If you’re looking for a party fighter and want an alternative to the Super Smash Bros series, this should be a top choice.
14. The House Of The Dead 2
(Image credit: Sega)
Developer: Sega
Released: 1999
With the Dreamcast serving as the gateway for Sega’s arcade games to enter your home, a great gun game was a necessity, and this zombie-infested sequel was just the ticket. It’s still one of the finest examples of the genre, thanks to the relentless pace of the undead assault, and where the original game had suffered from a somewhat underwhelming Saturn conversion, this was an arcade-perfect port. Every detail of decomposition was right there to be seen, and the unintentionally hilarious dialogue was reproduced beautifully. Just be aware that the American version of the game doesn’t support official Sega guns.
13. Resident Evil – Code: Veronica
Developer: Capcom
Released: 2000
Claire Redfield has been taken prisoner in the Umbrella Corporation facility on Rockfort Island, and you know what that means – another zombie outbreak. While the classic formula of puzzle-solving, limited ammunition, and tank controls is still firmly in place, the game has mutated with the power of a new console generation, with full 3D environments replacing the pre-rendered backdrops of old. It’s also an important game in the story, which sees the return of both Claire’s brother Chris and the series arch-villain Albert Wesker from the original game, and serves as the true follow-up to Resident Evil 2.
12. Metropolis Street Racer
(Image credit: Sega)
Developer: Bizarre Creations
Released: 2000
Bizarre Creations had a bold goal for Metropolis Street Racer – the developer wanted to create the most authentic street racing experience ever, by digitally recreating parts of London, San Francisco and Tokyo from thousands of photographs.
It achieved that, creating a great-looking game in the process, but the bigger deal was its approach to driving. Driving well matters as much as driving fast – winning is important, but you lose Kudos for crashes and gain them for stylish drifting, meaning that “rival-assisted steering” is very much discouraged. Many of the concepts that made the Project Gotham Racing series so special started right here.
11. Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike
Developer: Capcom
Released: 1999
It’s easy to forget these days, but this game wasn’t always super popular – players were put off by its lack of familiar faces, and 2D was decidedly unfashionable at the time it was released. But Street Fighter 3: Third Strike has been reappraised over the years, no doubt in part due to the unforgettable “Evo Moment #37” video of Daigo Umehara’s stunning comeback against Justin Wong. With time, we’ve grown to appreciate the exquisite animation that every character possesses and the mechanics like parries and EX moves that help it stand out from its peers.
That belated recognition is thoroughly deserved.
10. Skies Of Arcadia
(Image credit: Sega)
Developer: Overworks
Released: 2000
If you want a traditional Japanese RPG for your Dreamcast, this is the game for you. You follow the Blue Rogues, a band of air pirates led by Vyse, as they fight to prevent the Valuan Empire from taking over the world by reawakening the Silver Gigas, a powerful living weapon. The plot is well told, particularly due to a strong localization job, and there’s plenty to explore so you’ll be occupied for a long time. Plus, you get to take part in airship to airship combat, as well as fighting regular monsters – how cool is that?
9. Ikaruga
(Image credit: Bandai Namco)
For years after the Dreamcast was discontinued, Japanese developers continued to use the system to release ports of their arcade shoot-’em-ups, and Ikaruga was the greatest of the bunch. Ikaruga was as much a puzzle game as it was a standard blaster, as it required you to flip between black and white polarity to dish out major damage to opposite-colored enemies and absorb attacks from the others.
Few Dreamcast games can match Ikaruga visually, and the stirring soundtrack gives the game a truly epic feel. Ikaruga was hailed as an essential import at the time, and it’s just as enthralling two decades on.
Developer: Treasure
Released: 2002
8. Rez
(Image credit: Sega)
Developer: United Game Artists
Released: 2001
It’s fair to say that 20 years on, Rez still has an eye-catching look. Constructed to evoke images of ancient civilizations and pulsating to the beat of the music, the game’s wireframe worlds have a timeless quality to them, which is probably why they still look great in the game’s various HD updates. But there’s plenty of substance here to back up the style, as Rez is an accomplished rail shooter that features not only memorable stages, but amazing boss battles – go and check out Area 4’s “running man” boss right now, if you don’t know what we mean.
7. Jet Set Radio
(Image credit: Sega)
Developer: Smilebit
Released: 2000
The idea of skate punks battling it out in a graffiti turf war is appealing on its own, but Jet Set Radio goes takes it and adds an unparalleled sense of style.
The GGs, Jet Set Radio’s DJ Professor K, and the antagonistic police led by Captain Onishima are all represented in the cel-shaded style that the game would popularise, and everything is set to a funky soundtrack anchored by Hideki Naganuma. Even if you’re familiar with Jet Set Radio Future, this is a very different experience, emphasizing arcade action with constant police persecution, time limits, and trickier graffiti mechanics.
6. Phantasy Star Online
(Image credit: Sega)
Developer: Sonic Team
Released: 2001
Sonic Team’s online RPG was by far the most enjoyable way to rack up enormous call charges back in the days of dial-up internet. While the single-player offering was rather barren, gathering up a party of four to take on the wild creatures of Ragol was an absolutely unforgettable experience, whether you were adventuring with friends or making new ones in the lobbies of Pioneer II. We’ll never forget trying to take down Dark Falz, or hunting for those impossibly elusive drops.
Thanks to the efforts of enterprising fans, it’s still possible to play the Dreamcast versions of Phantasy Star Online today.
5. Virtua Tennis
Developer: Sega
Released: 2000
The original Virtua Tennis is a wonderfully accessible slice of summer sporting fun, and its sequel – Tennis 2K2, if you’re in North America – takes everything the original did and improves it. Besides superior presentation, the controls have been revamped to make slice shots easier to perform, and the World Tour mode has been beefed up with additional training mini-games and a character creation mode. There are more real players too, with women like Venus and Serena Williams joining the roster for the first time, opening up the possibility of mixed doubles matches. It’s still one of Dreamcast’s top sports games ever.
Developer: Capcom
Released: 2000
Capcom’s crossover fighting games had always been hyperactive affairs, full of big combos, aerial battles, and screen-filling super moves, but Marvel vs Capcom 2 took all that to another level.
Players have an enormous roster of 56 characters to choose from, covering Street Fighter and Darkstalkers favorites to the likes of Mega Man and Jill Valentine, as well as the X-Men, the Avengers, and more. The pace and intensity of the game’s three-on-three tag team battles are fun for any fighting game fan, but it’s a legendary tournament game too, having been a staple of high-level competition for a whole decade.
3. Crazy Taxi
(Image credit: Sega)
Developer: Hitmaker
Released: 2000
Crazy Taxi represents Sega at the peak of its arcade powers – filled with bold colors, loud sounds, and copious amounts of carnage that enliven a concept that’s impossible to misunderstand. But there are hidden depths to how the vehicles handle, which will need to be mastered if you want really high scores. It’s a game you play for a good time, not a long time, but the home console exclusive second city and the Crazy Box challenges add to the experience.
2. Shenmue
(Image credit: Sega)
Developer: Sega
Released: 1999
Yu Suzuki had made his name as the creator of fast, exciting arcade games, so it was quite a departure for him to tackle an epic RPG. Shenmue’s scale and ambition were like nothing else, with a town that felt alive – the weather changed, people had their daily routines, and there were all manner of distractions from an orphaned kitten to capsule toys. But what really stands out about the game is how it stripped away RPG conventions – numbers and levels, random battles, and menu-driven combat – to ensure that you were fully immersed in the world AM2 had created.
1. Soulcalibur
Developer: Project Soul
Released: 1999
Namco’s fighting game blew people away back in 1999, and rightly so. It actually looked considerably better than the original arcade game and was arguably the most visually impressive game ever at that point in time.
But it wasn’t just a pretty face – the game built on the excellent weapon-based combat of Soul Blade, with more varied fighting arenas and the new eight-way run movement. It’s still great today, whether you’re playing with friends or alone, as the Mission Battle mode gives you plenty of specific conditions that make fights trickier and develop your skill as a player.
If you’re passionate about retro gaming or just want to learn more about it, then you should check out Retro Gamer. Retro Gamer is the world’s longest-running magazine dedicated to classic games, and you can find out more about it at at Magazines Direct
Nick picked up gaming after being introduced to Donkey Kong and Centipede on his dad’s Atari 2600, and never looked back. He joined the Retro Gamer team in 2013 and is currently the magazine’s Features Editor, writing long reads about the creation of classic games and the technology that powered them. He’s a tinkerer who enjoys repairing and upgrading old hardware, including his prized Neo Geo MVS, and has a taste for oddities including FMV games and bizarre PS2 budget games.
A walking database of Sonic the Hedgehog trivia. He has also written for Edge, games™, Linux User & Developer, Metal Hammer and a variety of other publications.
The 14 Best Games For The Sega Dreamcast, By Kotaku’s Staff
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Original image: Evan Amos
Here’s a terrifying fact: Sega has been out of the console business longer than they were in it. And while it was the Dreamcast that finally did the struggling giant in, for a platform that was only around for a couple of years it certainly left one hell of a legacy behind.
You’d think a console that “failed” in 2001 would have been long forgotten by 2019, but many of the Dreamcast’s biggest and best games are still making their mark on video games today, from Soulcalibur to Shenmue.
Also worth remembering: it had the single greatest console start-up routine of all time. Like molten gold dripping under pale moonlight into a fine marble basin.
In honour of Sega’s fallen hero, we’ve put together this list of the best games for the Dreamcast, for those who might be interested in circling around and picking one up, or those who once did and would like a tragic trip down memory lane.
This unranked list has been made based on a couple of core considerations. Firstly, and most obviously, most of these are the games we simply think are the best Dreamcast games, those that are our personal favourites. But there are also games here, after two decades of space and time to consider, that we think defined the Dreamcast experience.
JET SET RADIO
I know I said this list was unranked, but I lied. Jet Set Radio was the best Dreamcast game. I know it had its flaws regarding difficulty and the time limits (some of which were addressed in the later Xbox port), but the colours, the music, the style.
..this is the millennium distilled, the perfect standard bearer for everything beautiful and good about the Sega Dreamcast. If you could only ever own one game for this system, it should/would be this.
NFL 2K1
Nobody knew it at the time, but NFL2K was one of the most important sports video games ever made. Back when the Dreamcast launched, EA Sports decided they didn’t want to release games for the system, which meant no Madden. No problem, Sega figured, so they went out and bought developer Visual Concepts, who not only went on to seriously challenge Madden in the football space through the early-00s, but are now killing EA in basketball with their NBA2K series. 2K1 was their second football effort on the console, and wasn’t just a better sports game than the first, but it also had online multiplayer, something that wouldn’t catch on with rival platforms for years.
IKARUGA
Originally an arcade game, Ikaruga’s first ever home port was on the Dreamcast, where it was released only in Japan.
That didn’t stop Westerners from importing it in droves, and what they’d find was one of the smartest and prettiest shmups ever made. The colour-flipping mechanic at the heart of the game is such a simple idea, but even two decades later it’s just still so perfect.
SHENMUE
An expensive and beloved project, way ahead of its time, that bombed commercially leaving a flaming wreck (and a beautiful legacy) in its wake? We could be talking about the Dreamcast itself, or we could be talking just about Shenmue.
Its heavy emphasis on story, and revolutionary (if also frustratingly basic) way of implementing it in a video game earned it a ton of praise at release, but also a ton of indifference from a market that just wasn’t ready (or, let’s be honest, just didn’t care) for its quirks.
POWER STONE 2
There had never been, and has never been, another fighting game series quite like Power Stone. Where most other fighters are comfortable existing in abstract spaces, the Power Stone games tried to replicate a proper 3D space for their arenas, including differing heights and destructible objects.
Both were a blast, but Power Stone 2 was the better game. Also, that old Capcom character design is just to die for.
REZ
Like Jet Set, and Space Channel, and many other Dreamcast games, Rez is a game that you’ve probably played somewhere else, but what’s important is that it was originally developed with Sega’s console in mind. It was and remains a near-perfect synaesthetic experience, especially if played with its nutso vibrator peripheral.
SPACE CHANNEL 5
If Jet Set Radio was most millennial video game, Space Channel 5 might run a very close second. Its mere existence is testament to how weird and daring the Dreamcast’s library could be, where a company could actually take a Janet/Michael Jackson music video and turn it into a rhythm game, then expect more than three people to buy it.
SEAMAN
Seaman, a piece of software that involved talking into a microphone at a fish with a human face (that of Yoot Saito, the game’s creator), has not aged particularly well.
But just picture the process involved in getting this from “high as fuck” to “boardroom pitch” to “actual game development” to “sure ok get Leonard Nimoy to do the voice”, and treasure every step of it.
SONIC ADVENTURE
There’s a common and persistent belief that the 3D Sonic games suck, but to buy into that theory requires ignoring Sonic Adventure, the best-selling Dreamcast game of all time. It looked amazing, and while actually controlling Sonic wasn’t as elegant as in 2D—something later 3D Sonic games would continue to struggle with—for 2001 this thing was one hell of an achievement. It might even have been the killer app the Dreamcast had so sorely needed, if…the console hadn’t been killed only months after Sonic Adventure’s release.
SKIES OF ARCADIA
There’s nothing more Sega than Blue Skies, and there’s no game with bluer skies than one literally set amongst blue Sega skies. A massive JRPG with an incredible (for the time) 3D overworld, it’s not hard imagining this appearing on any other console and selling millions.
SOULCALIBUR
This series, still running in 2019, needs no introduction, so I don’t have to give one here. Instead I’m just going to say that the original Dreamcast version of Soulcalibur is still very very good, and that I’ve been writing about video games professionally for 13 years now and still type it out, every single time, as Soul Calibur.
SAMBA DE AMIGO
Samba de Amigo married married rhythm action with a bonkers set of plastic maracas. How they worked, and how they were set up, was as 2000 as it gets:
In the Dreamcast version, each maraca has a cord which is plugged into a bar that lies in front of the player’s feet. The bar is slightly more than two feet in length and has a sensor at each end, and each maraca has an ultrasonic transmitter mounted on its cord; this allows the system to triangulate the position of each maraca. The rattle part can be unscrewed from the top of each maraca for quieter play.
[3] Included in the box is a plastic mat with two brown footprints, which helps players properly position themselves in relation to the sensor bar.marvel vs capcom 2
MARVEL VS CAPCOM 2
I don’t even know if this is the Dreamcast version, it might be the arcade cabinet, but whatever, you can’t talk about MvC2 without also saying Fuck The Knicks.
The Dreamcast was home to a lot of great fighting games, so many that three of them have made this list. Unlike the other two, which looked into the future and saw three dimensions, this one’s for the 2D purists, as MvC2 had a roster for the ages, as well as some of the best pixel art to ever grace a fighting game.
CRAZY TAXI
Yet another example of Sega leveraging its coin-op success, Crazy Taxi appeared on the Dreamcast in 2000, a year after its arcade debut. Its fundamental design—racing around a city while a giant arrow told you where to go—was so good that Sega had it patented, and would later take EA and Fox to court over Simpsons Road Rage because of it.
This story was originally published in 2019.
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Where it’s better to die — Vlast — Kommersant
The last article in the «Wonderful life of people» section is devoted to the search for the country where the best conditions are created for completing the earthly journey.
Since each person perceives death differently, there is no ideal way to die. When determining the best place to die, we will rely on the values that dictate the Western humanistic worldview. Accordingly, we will find out where it is possible to die without suffering, where the best conditions for burial are created, and where it is best to formulate the dying will.
Painless death
What a person dies of depends largely on the place of residence. The distribution of deaths from serious diseases that can make anyone end their life in agony is extremely uneven in the world.
And since an easy (and at the same time non-violent) death, according to traditional ideas, is a quick and painless death, it is worth taking a closer look at those countries in which serious diseases are the least common.
The World Health Organization (WHO) maintains incidence statistics in almost all countries. Its experts say that in the next 20 years, non-communicable diseases — heart disease, diabetes, asthma or cancer — will become the main threat to human health around the world. The most effective fight against diseases of this kind is in Japan, Monaco and Switzerland, where the mortality associated with them is kept at the level of 280-350 cases per year per 100 thousand people. These countries have quality health care systems that prevent the development of deadly diseases.
If, without losing hope for the best, nevertheless proceed from the worst case scenario — when a fatal and painful disease could not be avoided — one should look at those countries in which the patient has the opportunity to end his torment through euthanasia or suicide with the help of doctor.
Ethical debates about the permissibility of suicide in such cases have been going on for decades. And only in a few countries certain forms of euthanasia are allowed by law.
In Belgium, a doctor can either administer a lethal dose of medication to an incurable patient — this is active euthanasia, or disconnect the patient from life-support machines — this is passive. Belgian law also provides for physician-assisted suicide, where the patient himself injects the necessary injection under medical supervision. The decision to terminate the patient’s life is made only at his request and must be supported by an independent doctor and, if there are doubts about the patient’s capacity, by a psychiatrist.
Similar rules apply in the Netherlands. In other regions that have allowed patients to make their own decisions about their death (in Switzerland and in the US states of Oregon and Washington), doctors are prohibited from participating in the procedure. But they have the right to prescribe appropriate drugs to the patient, leaving the last choice to him.
While the bitter debate about whether it is legal to allow euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide continues, the terminally ill themselves are increasingly willing to make the irrevocable choice. Last year, for example, in Oregon alone, 314 people exercised their right to die.
Thus, residents of four countries — Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the USA — can most freely dispose of their lives and deaths.
A lavish funeral
According to the scientific concept of death, after it we do not have to worry about the abandoned body. Nevertheless, most people are not indifferent to what happens to them.
As centuries ago, burial is the most common in the world, especially in countries with low population density (see the list of the best cemeteries in the world in the table). Where there is little space for cemeteries, cremation is resorted to. So, for example, they do it in the UK, where more than 70% of the bodies are burned, and in Japan (over 90%).
In some cultures, cremation is a long-established custom and is usually explained by religious beliefs. For example, in India, it is believed that burning the body makes it easier for the soul to break the connection with it and start looking for a new home. Hindus have adopted the custom of scattering the ashes of the deceased over the sacred river Ganges. And in Japan, it is customary to bury the remains in the ground after a complex and expensive ceremony. Now funerals in Japan are considered to be perhaps the most expensive in the world: on average, the relatives of the deceased spend about $14,000 on them.
A much more sophisticated funeral industry has developed in the US, where private companies offer a wide range of ways to take a client on their last journey. For example, employees of the Summon company in Salt Lake City can embalm the body of the deceased. The process will cost $60,000, including the cost of the bronze sarcophagus. Those who do not want to spend big money can turn to specialists of a different profile who are already dealing with the remains after cremation.
Space Services, for example, offers to send some of the ashes of the deceased into space. There are several options to choose from. For $625, a portion of the cremated remains, weighing one gram, will be able to travel to zero gravity in a special rocket that will land in 15 minutes so that the family of the deceased can take the ashes back. For $2.5 thousand, the company can perform a more symbolic ceremony. According to its website, «The Celestis spacecraft carrying the ashes of the deceased will be in Earth orbit, where it will remain until it enters the atmosphere, evaporating harmlessly like a brilliant shooting star.»
In November, Space Services unveiled a new project. Its leaders decided to start sending human remains to the moon. Founder and head of the company, Charles Chafer, said: «The first flight may occur as early as 2010, we have already begun to reserve a place (intended for the lunar cemetery — «Power» )». He added that the capsules with ashes will go to the moon in droves — 5,000 at a time.
You can already order such a service on the company’s website — it will cost $9.995 for 1 gram and almost $20 thousand for 7 grams. Finally, the company’s most exclusive offer is to send cremated remains into deep space ($12.5 thousand per gram).
There are also businesses in the United States that offer cryopreservation services — freezing the body of the deceased until better times, when technology will allow it to be resurrected. The cost of these services is quite high — Alcor Corporation, for example, requires $ 150,000 for freezing the whole body and $ 80,000 for the brain. The Russian company Kriorus does the same for several times cheaper — $30,000 and $9, respectively.thousand
Thus, the widest range of funeral services is offered in the USA.
Satisfied heirs
If the deceased managed to acquire at least something during his life, the question of inheritance inevitably arises before his relatives. Countries differ greatly in this parameter.
In many places, death is accompanied by great material losses — part of the inheritance passes into the hands of the state. In Japan, for example, inheritance tax ranges from 10% (if the value of the property is less than $94 thousand) up to 50% (if we are talking about the amount of more than $2.8 million).
In Iran, the closest relatives of the deceased must receive at least two-thirds of his property, even if he did not leave a will. But at the same time, they have to pay a rather high tax — from 5 to 35% of the total value of the inheritance. And if distant relatives become heirs, they give the state already from 35 to 65% of the value of the property.
An inheritance tax exists in most countries, despite the fact that its very idea is frowned upon by many. Opponents of this «death tax» accuse the governments of the countries where it operates of trying to cash in on someone else’s misfortune. Nevertheless, even the most developed countries do not want to cancel it.
In Europe, the amount of this tax either depends on the size of the inheritance and the degree of kinship of the heirs and can vary from 2 to 60% (as in Austria), or is fixed — 10-15% (as in Denmark, for example).
However, there are countries more pleasant for the heirs, which have abolished the «death tax» or never used it at all. These are, for example, all the oil monarchies of the Arabian Peninsula, Russia, Australia, Sweden, Singapore and some US states, in particular New Mexico, South Dakota, South Carolina and Utah. In many other states, however, there is an aggressive system of inheritance taxation, in which the recipients of property are required to give the state from 18 to 45% of its value.
Thus, death is the least burdensome for heirs in a number of countries, as well as in four US states.
Dry residue. After analyzing the main aspects related to the end of life, we decided to give preference to the United States, where there is liberal medical legislation, all types of posthumous services are available, and inheritance is not taxed.
True, to take advantage of all this, you will have to move from state to state.
EGOR NIZAMOV
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*See NN3, 7, 12, 16, 20, 25, 29, 33, 38, 42, and 46 for this year for previous entries.)
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11 rules for a good death | PSYCHOLOGIES
That was 9 years ago. My stepmother called me and said that I should visit my grandmother. Grandmother was 92 years old, she was almost blind and deaf and could no longer enjoy her favorite books and music. She spent most of her time in a wheelchair, because she suffered minor strokes that caused her to constantly fall, and she never liked lying in bed. Now she told the nurse that she was ready to die, and we all took these words seriously.
I managed to arrive and spend the whole day at her bedside with other members of our family. We said that we were letting her go, and at night she died quietly.
I thought it was a good death. However, apart from this experience, I didn’t really think about what it was like to come to terms with death.
And just recently, the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry published the results of a new study based on 36 previous surveys of terminally ill patients, their families, and healthcare professionals caring for the dying.
Summarizing these results, the authors identified 11 main rules for a “good” death. Here they are:
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The ability to determine how we die.
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No pain.
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Involvement in any religious or spiritual practice.
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Good emotional state.
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The feeling of completeness of life, the feeling that we will leave something behind.
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Choice of treatment.
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An opportunity to maintain one’s dignity in the process of dying.
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The presence of a family and the opportunity to say goodbye to it.
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Decent living conditions during the period of dying.
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Good relationship with medical staff.
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Other: Some cultural specific requests, pets, medical costs.
Given these factors that we associate with the peaceful process of dying, we can better prepare for the death of those we love, and our own.
Choosing how to die
Most of us don’t like to talk about death. Still, talking about how we’re going to end our lives is necessary, says study lead author Emily Meyer, a psychologist and palliative care specialist at the University of San Diego. And it’s best to discuss all this ahead of time. Then later we will be able to better cope with all the accompanying emotions.
The best option, according to Emily Meyer, is to write down your wishes in this regard and discuss them with loved ones. This allows you to maintain a sense of control over your life in the face of inevitability and even to see meaning in the process of dying.
“When my mother’s life came to an end, I was incredibly helped by a clear understanding of what she herself would like,” says writer Natasha Billauala, who lives in Los Angeles. Both her parents left detailed written instructions long before their deaths, noting which procedures they wanted and which they didn’t, and which decisions they allowed their children to make on their behalf.
Natasha Billauala talked about death many times with her mother, who suffered from a neurodegenerative disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). Did her mother’s death meet the criteria for a dignified death as outlined in the study? It turned out yes and no. Her mother was not yet ready to leave. But the loss of vital functions prevented her from making the final decision and hastened her demise.
Nevertheless, the writer is sure that the opportunity to be close to her mother at the time of death is a gift. “There was so much love in it, I was so included in what was happening to her — it was wonderful, and it will always remain with me.
