Screwattack and Classic Game Room show their DC love



Screwattack's Video game Vault tends to focus on NES/SNES games, but recently they've gone into a couple Dreamcast games: 18 Wheeler and Space Channel 5, the latter of which is above. I haven't posted the 18 Wheeler one because I can't find myself agreeing that it sucks, because it doesn't. The Space Channel 5 vid is pretty good though, even if it spoils the ending which I'm still no where close to getting near. Oh well.



Elsewhere, the Classic Game Room has returned with a new series on Youtube, which has already featured some quality Dreamcast lovin' in the form of a review for Le mans 24 Hours (one of my personal favorite racers on the system), a THREE PART review of the bat shit mental shooter that is Mars Matrix, and a review of the Dreamcast controller and VMU for good measure.

Mark is doing these on his own now (well, except for his dog who occasionally joins in to nibble on the odd NES controller), but he does an excellent job of showing off what made the Dreamcast so great in these new videos, and taking you back to what owning one back when it released was like. They're all essential viewing especially if you haven't played Le Mans or Mars Matrix before, both of which are rather underrated games. Below is the controller vid and the first part of the Mars Matrix review.



Tilt by Todd Levine.

http://www.themorningnews.org/archives/consoles_i_have_known/tilt.php


ILLUSTRATION BY JENNIFER DANIEL

An excellent article from the Morning News.

It details the rise of the off white box and the brief dot-com boom in detail.

New Samba de Amigo adds familiar character


Pulled from UK Resistance.

Ulala+ Samba de Amigo = Good

They just need to add some more Dreamcast characters and games and I am probably gonna buy a Wii in a few years.

Plus that new House of the Dead game is looking pretty promising as well.



Sega Game Archive Room

http://blogs.sega.com/usa/2008/08/07/the-sega-game-archive/

That's pretty impressive.

It's sad that nobody remembers why such a room was created but it's nice that they are going to let people play the games. Hopefully this will lead people to create some cool games based on past greats. I mean they are making Mega Man 9 in retro format. Why not make some old retro Sega games?

I hope someone is smart enough to look through all those Dreamcast CD-Rs for unreleased games. With all those CD spindles there you KNOW there are some playable releases for titles we never saw.

I would have such a good time in that room. (Then I would try to sneak out with twin sticks under my jacket when I left)

Pulled from Kotaku.

Wind and Water Puzzle Battles Interview

Interview with Yuan-Hsi Chiang: Developer of the World’s Next Dreamcast Game

"Well, it’s a nice console with a dedicated fanbase. When I was younger, I would be extremely grateful when a Super Famicom (SNES) title arrived very late in its life, as it felt more like a tribute than a big commercial project. Many Dreamcast users around the world are really excited about this release! And the market, especially in Japan, is big enough to make it very profitable, which doesn’t hurt one bit!

On a more techie side, the DC is very robust, and supports true 240p RGB, which provides the definite 2D arcade experience. The controller suits the game perfectly, and there are practically no load times. There is also VGA and Arcade Stick support, so you can truly play this game any way you want on DC!"

Via www.siliconera.com


I liked the interview a lot. The guys over at Yuan Works seem to really want to preserve the pixel art that makes retro games so great.

I am also glad to hear that the Japanese market for Dreamcast games is still great enough to generate profit. Hopefully we can see some more games in the future.

Racketboy's List Of Most Valuable Dreamcast Games


The ever wonderful Racketboy continues to service our retro gaming passion with yet another fabulous post about our favourite console. One thing I love about Racket is that he constantly makes consoles such as the Dreamcast and the Saturn look essential in these 360/Wii/PSwhatever times. And as we all know, THEY ARE!!

So you can check out the list of most valuable games here. You can also check out the most relevent Dreamcast games for today here, the games that defined the Dreamcast here, the cheapest Dreamcast games worth your time here.

Oh, and if you are in the mood for a little more Racket browsing, why not check out the best Dreamcast multiplayer/party games here, the sega Dreamcast 2D fighter's library here, the Sega Dreamcast 2D shooters library here, the Dreamcast's essential import list here, the Dreamcast exclusive's list here, and finally the Dreamcast *shudders* ports on other systems here...

We at the Dreamcast Junkyard salute you Racket and applaud your tireless work in keeping our favourite consoles relevent in this ever changing gaming world. Keep up the good work!!!

Oh and BTW, I once had the honour of interviewing the great man for our sister site, The Saturn Junkyard. You can read that post here...

How can you sum up Shenmue?

If you haven't checked out Jonathan "Persona" Kim's webcomic over at GameSetWatch yet you really should...



Also PSO...



Check out his website for more stuff.



Wind and Water Puzzle Battles

A bit of information about the upcoming Dreamcast port of Wind and Water.

Blatantly stolen from the headlines at DCEmu UK http://dreamcast.dcemu.co.uk/

From the Wind and Water website.

"The Dreamcast version will feature a new package design, as well as an extensive manual with new artwork, in both English and Japanese! The final package will resemble closely the pictures you see below:" (Official Site)



It looks like there is gonna be some pretty good packaging for the puzzle game! And it looks like there is going to be VMU support!

Perhaps they could have gone with a DVD case design but the classic CD case looks pretty sweet.

Simon Jeffery Confirms Dreamcast 2, Shenmue 3, and Seaman 2 (on opposite day)

Just remember that this clip was filmed during "opposite day" so everything Mr. Jeffery says is the complete opposite from what he really means!



Wow that's some cold truth there.

"Fanboys" want Shenmue 3? Well, Nintendo doesn't listen to those whiny hardcore gamer peas anymore. So why should Sega listen to Sega fans?

Pulled from Kotaku

Some new Controller bits and bobs.

Got some stuff I've got my hands on as of recent here. First off, a Dreamcast controller I found at a boot sale this weekend which I believe to be rather unusual. For starters it's a bright green. These different coloured controllers are pretty hard to find in the UK as they were onyl sold online, but this is obviously not a European one as it has a orange logo on it, but rather a Japanese one. What makes it's truly unusual though is the little "Millennium 2000" symbol printed on it. Have a closer look.

I looked it up on Dreamcast Gallery, and it looks as though these were made in at least Green and blue, and only sold for a limited time, most likely between December 1999 and January 2000. Even better, the controller is in perfect condition considering it was amongst some guy's standard PAL collection without a box. Only problem now is I have way too many standard DC controllers (a total of 9!) so I'm gonna have to sell off a few. If anyone wants a spare controller or two, I'm selling 3 of them on Ebay right now, as well as a spare fishing controller. I'm holding on to this one though, as at some point I'd like to own one of every colour they did, not including those ridiculously rare patterned ones.

What I especially like about these semi-transparent ones is you can see all the circuitry inside the controller that makes it tick, and if you look closely in that second photo you can see a Sega Logo printed right onto the circuit board. I got a similar black controller a while ago but something tells me it may be fake: there's no Sega logo and the Dreamcast logo font looks different. To solve that issue I took the controller and a official white one apart and part the proper Sega parts in the Black shell, why not?

Meanwhile online I finally decided to purchase a Total Control 3 from Play-Asia, who typically decided to have a 25% off everything sale days after giving them my money. Darn!

So I've been through quite a few of these controller adapters now. First a simple Playstation one, followed by what was supposed to be a PSX and Saturn one but turned out to be PSX and PC keyboards instead, then another Playstation one with a VMU slot that I manged to blow a Dreamcast's controller ports out with (leaving me with a total of 3 dead Dreamcast's out of 5 currently) and finally one with PSX and Saturn but no twin stick compatibility. Bah!

This one however is just for Saturn controllers, but the main reason I bought it was for it's compatibility with Saturn Twin Sticks. You see, Saturn Twin sticks can be bought for about £30 but Dreamcast ones are £50+, but why buy a DC one when you can get the cheaper Saturn one then run it on the Dreamcast as well with a adapter? Is anyone still following this?

So how does it wok with this infamous Virtual On controller? Well, like a charm really, although it hasn't exactly made me any better at the game. Sometimes it seems to confuse a left stick movement to the left as pausing the game but otherwise but that may of just been a dusty connection or something. I also had a go at some other games to see if I could find some magic new control scheme ala the Fishing controller with Virtua Tennis but so far I haven't found anything that really fits the twin stick style. Sadly Bangai-O doesn't let you change all the button mapping, otherwise you could adjust it to have the left stick move the robot and the right to shoot in said direction, which would have been ace. Oh well.

So that's all I have to report as of recent. I still have to sort out those videos I promised you, including a couple new Rummage videos which are about half done.

Bringing the Dream to the kids...



Well it was my friend from the Planet Dreamcast Forums, Sonnyboywilliamson's idea so I kind of feel bad about jumping the gun and beating him to reporting back on the first Dreamcast day that my class have experienced. To cater to numbers I also took in a PS2...

The day started with a Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution tournament. The rule was basically, winner stays on. I started off as my favourite VF character, Kage Maru, confident that I'd have a long run on the top spot, but boy was I wrong... I managed three wins before the most 'challenging' pupil took great delight in unceremoniously dumping me out of the game. A very quiet, well behaved beautiful little girl proved to be the dark horse of the tournament. She notched up eight successive wins as Sarah Bryant, kicking the arses of all the boys who had made her year miserable through their behaviour! Happy days!

The pattern was repeated later in the day on Soul Calibur. DOH! Again, it was the quieter girls who proved to be the martial arts masters. The kids loved the day and we are going to repeat it tomorrow. I might take in Crazy Taxi and Space Channel 5. And then I break up for six lovely weeks! Put that in your pipe and smoke it wage slaves!!!!

The games on offer to the children over the day were:

Dreamcast:Soul Calibur
Marvel vs. Capcom 2
Daytona USA 2000

PS2:
VF4 Evolution
PES3
Some Konami Dance Mat game for PS1

Dreamcast vs. Wii



I really liked this video, though I don't actually agree with it's stance. I think that both the 360 and the Wii have a LOT to thank our favourite console for in terms of innovation, but you'd have to be some sort of luddite to think they are inferior systems. Both are great and have a lot to offer current gen gamers, but their roots in Dreamcast soil are glaringly obvious for all to see...

What the above video does very succinctly though, is highlight beautifully what an amazing system the Dreamcast was (is!) I think the fact that the Wii seems to be a platform for Dreamcast re-issues (see last but one post) is not something that damns the Wii, but something that celebrates the Dreamcast.

Hopefully those peeps who are enjoying downloads of Ikaruga on the 360, or loving the re-issue of HOTD2, Sega Bass Fishing, Samba De Amigo etc. on the Wii, might at some point check out eBay and score themselves a Dreamcast for peanuts. Then they will be like me. I got my first Dreamcast three years after it's demise. I've spent the last four years revering it's splendour and buying as many pieces of Dreamcast software and peripherals as my family budget would allow. I've got one Wii, one 360, one PS2 and one Saturn. I've got eight Dreamcasts, (three 'boxed as new') in reserve. I have one next to my 360 and Wii, and in another room one next to my PS2 and Saturn. Guess which console receives the most attention?

Plus I'm waiting for brand new Dreamcast game DUX to be posted through the letterbox as we speak... As gamers, we should reap the benefits of whatever console can satisfy our gaming needs. As Dreamcast lovers we should feel smug to see how the seeds sewn by Sega's last gasp are still reverberating through the current generation. I'm confident that the love shown towards the Dreamcast may well be rewarded. Dreamcast 2 may well become a reality if we all pray hard enough!!

Jet Set Radio Soundtrack



It's not always easy for the team at the DCJY to come up with news for a console that's been 'resting' for the last seven years. My own Dreamcast 'news' since the completion of Gut's Rage has stagnated somewhat. I'm still playing Jet Set Radio, but have become somewhat stuck on the mission of Coin and Cube, finding it hard to wall ride high enough to tag the higher grafitti near the skate park and constantly running out of time or being beaten to a pulp!

Still, I have been lucky enough to obtain the soundtrack to both Jet Set Radio and Jet Set Radio Future direct from Japan for under a tenner. This brings my game soundtrack CD collection to three titles. I've got the two titles above plus the soundtrack of Space Channel 5 (which includes remixes of all the tracks you hear in the game.) Now if I could only find a sound track for Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, I'd die a happy man...

Hands On Samba De Amigo Wii!

This is straight from the excellent Sega Nerds website... It's making me wonder whether I should just go out and buy it right now, instead of saving my hard earned sterlings for Soul Calibur 4. I've got the original DC version, plus two sets of third party maracas. I've also got the PS2 Sega Superstars version. But it looks so great! I might sneak out and get it right now... Is it released in the UK yet? OK, my PC is being really shit and I cannot present this post as I want it... So I'll just post the video...


Online Videos by Veoh.com

The Dream On Archives @ Dailymotion

You may of noticed in the sidebar I've added a video wall of some sort from the Dailymotion account. This is so you can see all the latest videos uploaded there. What's more, I'm trying to have a quality over quantity thing going on with the video accounts so this week I have put together a complete archive of every Dream On demo video preview they ever did, split into a total of 13 ten minute videos, in chronological order so you can get a rough idea when said games were released.


At time of typing this I have six uploaded with another seven to go. When they are all up there will be over 2 hours worth of Dreamcast footage, from a total of 74 different games! Mind you, for every game that brings back memories of sitting at awe watching them for the first time like Shenmue, there are sleep inducing bore-fests like Sydney 2000, Deep Fighter and WWF Royal Rumble, videos that feel like they go on forever (in fact I would recommend avoiding Part eight completely, it is very boring). Still, this way there doesn't have to be 70-odd videos for each and every trailer, and no one will have to request certain videos from them anymore as they're all here.

Next In plan to upload these to the Youtube account, removing all the separate little ones, just to tidy things up a little. I also plan to do something similar with all those Bleemcast videos, maybe by having a video feature that has small clips of them all rather than ten minutes videos of each. When I get time I also have some Rummage videos to finish off and upload too.