Heretic

Heretic for Dreamcast is an unofficial, beta-status port by Bero of Raven Software's 1994 dark-fantasy first-person shooter, rather than a commercial Dreamcast release. It brings the original computer game, developed by Raven Software and published by id Software, to Sega's hardware; the Dreamcast port is dated September 9, 2002.

The campaign follows Corvus, one of the Sidhe elves, after the Serpent Riders corrupt the rulers and armies of Parthoris. The Sidhe resist the Riders' control and are condemned as heretics, leaving Corvus to pursue the surviving Rider, D'Sparil, through a world overrun by his forces.

Played from a first-person view, Heretic combines fast combat with exploration. Corvus dispatches monsters with fantasy weapons including the Elven Wand, Ethereal Crossbow, Dragon Claw, Hellstaff, Phoenix Rod, and Firemace, while armor, ammunition, keys, switches, and hidden rooms guide progress through each map.

An inventory lets players save useful items for the right moment instead of using every pickup immediately. Quartz flasks restore health, the Morph Ovum changes enemies into chickens, and the Tome of Power strengthens many weapons with alternate attacks. The game also permits looking up and down and flight in appropriate areas.

The adventure is divided into episodes and interconnected levels, beginning amid the ruined Sidhe capital before moving through locations such as Hell's Maw and the Dome of D'Sparil. Finding the correct keys and exits, uncovering secrets, and managing supplies are central to reaching the later areas.

This Dreamcast port supports mouse, joystick, and keyboard input, as well as sound and music using GUS patches. It can save to a VMU with compression, though its documentation notes that sound may work intermittently.

Heretic's Dreamcast edition preserves the original game's Doom-engine style of rapid movement, monster-filled corridors, and fantasy magic while representing a community-produced console adaptation. Its port-specific feature set and beta status distinguish it from the original Raven release and its other computer versions.