An Interview with Midnight Scribe — Retro Game Collecting in Portrait

I learned recently that social media platform TikTok has nearly 2 billion users. That's more people than ever bought the Sega Dreamcast, not that that's exactly a high bar. It also turns out that it's not just all dancing videos on TikTok either. In fact, from a purely algorithmic standpoint, the TikTok gremlins' ability to present me with snappy videos in portrait that match my interests to a tee definitely outshines similar services provided by Instagram and YouTube. My "For You" feed is frequently filled with a generous helping of great short-form retro game collecting coverage, and one creator who caught my attention in particular was Midnight Scribe.

Midnight Scribe creates chilled, uplifting videos covering their many game-collecting adventures. I first discovered their account through a video documenting their mission to collect the entire PAL PlayStation 3 library, and from there it wasn't long until I'd watched everything else too, from videos on the Wii U and Nintendo 64 to the original Xbox and PlayStation, and, of course, the Dreamcast — a system Scribe is particularly fond of.

DCJY: Hello! Thanks for joining us here at the Junkyard, Midnight Scribe. For starters, how would you describe the videos you make for those who haven't seen them?

Midnight Scribe: I’m a Scottish retro gamer and collector, yakking away about all the fun and wonderful things gaming has to offer. I talk about a bunch of different consoles including the N64, original Xbox and Dreamcast. I'm probably mostly being watched for my videos tracking my efforts to complete the UK PS3 game library and a PS1 challenge I'm doing, where I try to build a PS1 collection without going to CEX or eBay, to show there are still deals to be found.

When did you start making videos, and what made you gravitate to TikTok specifically?

I only started making videos in January 2026, I’m very much a baby creator right now! Between the dark nights and some very stressful days at work, I needed something to perk me up after the work day was done, and I thought it would be fun to film a video about a Sega Saturn game I’d bought recently, Pebble Beach Golf Links. I have a lot of fondness for the game, even if I’m very bad at playing it! I don’t think I’ve ever gotten a birdie in that game yet.

I've had TikTok for a few years but I was very much a lurker, and never really did any videos or commented much. I had the itch to do something creative to raise my mood and give me something to focus on and I loved the immediacy of being able to record and publish a video and the community aspect that exists on TikTok. I didn’t have any expectations of how it would go or the reception I'd get, but a couple videos blew up about my attempts to collect the full UK PS3 library very quickly and everything snowballed from there!

It was actually your PS3 videos that brought me to your TikTok. It always felt like a bit of an underdog system to me, despite finishing second place that generation!

I feel the same about the PS3 too. When it was first announced and the first few years it was around, I really wasn't a fan of it and definitely felt Sony were taking their fans for granted, while the 360 was offering great online play and the Wii was bringing gaming to everyone and their gran! I did eventually pick one up in late 2009 and I come around on it. Despite it selling more than the 360, it does feel like it was really stuck in third place, but it’s an amazing machine to play and collect for. It’s been the most fun console to explore for me since the original Xbox.

So how did you feel when your videos starting to gain traction?

Shock, and a fair bit of confusion! It was the third video I did that blew up, getting around 8000 views. I went to bed with a couple hundred views and had answered a few questions, but overnight I woke up to dozens of comments asking about if I had certain PS3 games, how cool it was to see a collection like this, if I could curate a PS3 collection list for them, just lots and lots of positive feedback. Amazing way to wake up while having a morning coffee!

About a week later, another PS3 collection video shot past 20000 views and everything went into overdrive from there. I was having fun making videos and it really quickly became apparent that people were actually enjoying hearing me ramble on about games and my collection! I didn’t expect anything close to this to happen; I had no expectations at all, so it’s really been a joyride for the last three months. It definitely encouraged me to keep going and it’s made my evenings so much more fun. I get to chat with all sorts of gamers around the world about the games we like, show love for systems like the Wii U and PS3 and just have a really chill and positive chat together!

Considering I started doing these videos to basically help get me out of a rut, it honestly makes me so happy knowing that my little videos and chats with fellow gamers is being received so well and bringing them a little bit of joy too. I can’t honestly ask for any more than that, I’m extremely grateful for how kind and nice everyone has been, it means a heck of a lot.

Watching your videos, I can see that you have a very impressive collection. How long have you been collecting games for?

I used to collect a lot in the late 2000s and early 2010s, especially during my university days! That’s when I got the Dreamcast games and a good chunk of my N64 library. However, I sold off most of my collection to fund moving in with my partner and to get funds for a house. The majority of my current collection though has been built up in the last 3 and a half years, so I’ve been very busy… or obsessive, there’s a very thin line there! The Wii U ignited my passion for retro games again in a big way, I feel it’s a very under-appreciated console. I do have a thing for underdog systems, something the Wii U and Dreamcast have in common for sure. 

So let's talk Dreamcast! In a recent video, you spoke very fondly about the all-important moment you first got yours.

I never knew of the Dreamcast growing up. None of my friends had one, so it completely passed me by. In the summer of 2004, I went on holiday to Scarborough with my family and we visited the local Gamestation branch while we were there. I remember seeing a boxed Dreamcast and a shelf of games and I knew I was leaving there with it. I’d got an N64 the Halloween previous so I was just beginning to explore consoles I’d missed out on.

I left with the Dreamcast and two games, Sonic Adventure and Tomb Raider: the Last Revelation. However, I remember not liking Tomb Raider when I first played it so we went back and swapped it for Sega GT, which I definitely preferred. I remember commandeering the hotel room TV, hooking up the Dreamcast and playing the first couple stages in Sonic Adventure, the summer vibes of Station Square and the beach level mirroring the lovely weather and sandy beaches outside the window in Scarborough. That was basically all my money I saved for the holiday gone, but worth every penny. I think I carried the console in my arms in-between train stops on the way back home, it was my baby!

A Dreamcast DVD Player Appears!

Image source: Throaty Mumbo

The Dreamcast's inability to play DVDs out of the box is often cited as one of the main reasons the system faltered in the face of competition from Sony's PlayStation 2. Indeed, even the late, great Bernie Stolar himself mused about SEGA's decision to eschew a DVD drive in favour of internet capabilities when we spoke to him several years ago. In an effort to capture the buzz around DVD technology at the time, SEGA Europe went as far as bundling the Dreamcast with a seperate standalone DVD player, but it was too little, too late - the writing was already on the wall for the little white box of dreams.

Now, anyone who knows anything about the current state of the Dreamcast scene will attest to the ingenuity of the community when it comes to squeezing more than was ever intended out of the console. We have new games coming out at a steady pace, new VMU technology, new controllers, the system is back online, there's a whole online gaming scene and replacement internal components are myriad. At this point then, it was probably only a matter of time before somebody reverse engineered a Dreamcast to be able to play DVDs...and that's exactly what one particularly talented YouTuber has accomplished.

Going by the name Throaty Mumbo, the gentleman in question describes himself as someone who likes to 'test and play around with old hardware and software,' and upon viewing the video above, I can attest to this claim. Through a series of tests and hardware experiments, Mr Mumbo successfully convinces a Dreamcast to recognise and eventually play an Aqua Teen Hunger Force DVD via a drive connected to a controller port with a bit of Raspberry Pi action thrown in for good measure. It's a really interesting journey of discovery and raises the question of whether an officially released DVD drive attachment could have turned the Dreamcast's fortunes around back in the day.

Be sure to check out Throaty Mumbo's channel here.

Image source: Derek Pascarella

But wait - there's more! In other, somewhat relevant Dreamcast video player related news, Dreamcast development legend Derek Pascarella (with help from Chris Daioglou of Dreamware Enterprises fame) has recently released a patch which removes the proprietary infrared dongle requirement from the DreamMovie VCD/MP3 player, allowing for standard Dreamcast controller support. Check out Derek's work, read a history of the DreamMovie hardware and software, and download the fruits of his labour over at Github.

G-Cube Returns! — New Versions of the PlayStation 2, GameCube and Xbox-Themed Dreamcasts Discovered

Long-time readers may remember our 2023 feature about G-Cube, a Japanese group of artists and model builders who put their skills to work creating custom modifications of things like model kits, toys and yes, even Sega Dreamcasts. At the time we focused on the recent rediscovery in Thailand of the mysterious PlayStation 2 and GameCube case mods for the Dreamcast, pictures of which have been circulating on the internet since the early 2000s.

As part of the previous feature, G-Cube was interviewed and confirmed that they would even accept new commissions for these unusual Dreamcast modifications decades later, though it seemed such an order would appeal only to the most dedicated of Dreamcast fans as conditions included paying a substantial upfront fee, providing necessary materials (including a Dreamcast console and accessories) and agreeing to Japanese domestic shipping only to receive the finished work.

An astute reader of the Junkyard from Japan recently tipped us off about some interesting posts on the G-Cube website. Over the last few years since the publication of our feature, it appears that G-Cube has been preparing multiple brand-new versions of their PS2, GameCube, and Xbox-themed Dreamcast case modifications. The links below to G-Cube’s website show some of the build process and many in-production photos of these new creations.

PlayStation 2 case mod: https://g-cube.cocolog-tnc.com/gcube/2024/03/post-7ab347.html

GameCube case mod: https://g-cube.cocolog-tnc.com/gcube/2024/12/post-c9f426.html 

Original Xbox case mod: https://g-cube.cocolog-tnc.com/gcube/2026/01/post-b80f55.html 

A new Xbox-style Dreamcast comes together in 2026!

While the new versions of the modifications look very much like they will turn out to be highly reminiscent of the original case modifications from the early 2000s, G-Cube has identified certain improvements to the designs on its website, such as using a magnetic attachment for the Gamecube case handle rather than the glue used in the old version (indeed, when the old Gamecube modification resurfaced in Thailand, the handle had been broken off from the case).

A new GameCube-style Dreamcast takes shape in G-Cube's mysterious workspace!

It is fantastic to see these complex designs come to life again and to know that there are more than one example of each out there. G-Cube appear to be masters of their craft and their Dreamcast designs have led to much discussion over the years. To close the story for now, I’d just like to point out that it is quite the coincidence that these elaborate Dreamcast designs are being made by a group called "G-Cube", since, as confirmed by IGN in its reporting from the year 2000, Sega itself had once considered “G-Cube” as a potential name for the Sega Dreamcast!

Horror Double Whammy: New Survival Horror Dreamcast Indie Title and Alone in the Dark Ports Incoming

You can never have too many horror games on the Sega Dreamcast. Of course, it already boasts some exceptionally terrifying titles, from survival horror classics like the Resident Evil series to lightgun shootfests such as The House of the Dead 2, but there’s always room for more. Well, I’m happy to report that the Dreamcast’s horror library is about to get just that little bit plumper, with these two fresh news bites I have to share today. So, picture a gothic Ryo Hazuki as I say: "let’s get spooky."

I couldn't find a goth Ryo on Google Images, so here's Richmond instead.

Brand new survival horror indie title in the works from JoshProd!

Not much is known about this project yet, but the concept alone has the horror heads in the Junkyard team rocking back and forth with manic glee. A brand-new, fully fledged horror title is something the Dreamcast’s indie and homebrew scene has been missing, with Wolfenstein total conversion mod Witching Hour standing as the (sort of) lone torchbearer for a while now.

On Saturday, Philippe of JoshProd announced that development had started on a brand-new, currently unnamed "3D survival horror game" with a "dark atmosphere", which will release exclusively on the Dreamcast, and will be a "love letter to the classics". It will feature fixed camera angles, as is traditional survival horror fare.

It’s refreshing to learn that this title will be developed from the ground up specifically for the console, especially since JoshProd and their publishing arm PixelHeart have typically focused on porting existing titles over the years, to varied reception.

JoshProd hasn't shared any gameplay screenshots or artwork, just the image you see above of a very dusty Dreamcast. If yours looks like this, perhaps it's time to play it more. Maybe play this upcoming JoshProd horror game on it? We've been informed by Philippe that we'll hear more about this project in the summer, so keep your eyes peeled.

Alone in the Dark ports coming to Dreamcast — Preview build available

"The Dreamcast already has Alone in the Dark!" I hear you cry. And you’d be right. Infogrames and Darkworks' Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare, the sole Dreamcast entry in the series, is a great game (and especially lovely visually), but soon, you’ll be able to play three more Alone in the Dark entries alongside it on the system. Don't worry, I'm not talking about the much-derided 2008 game (although that would be quite an impressive feat technically), but instead the very first —and highly influential— Alone in the Dark, its two sequels, as well as the short promotional game Jack in the Dark. 

After over a decade in the oven, developer Corbin (aka Corbachu) of Isotope Softworks has released a Dreamcast preview build of "Dream in the Dark", which is a modern, hardware-accurate source port of the original Alone in the Dark trilogy's engine. It is a complete rewrite of the Free in the Dark engine, and features a number of bells and whistles that my simple brain doesn't quite understand, but you can read all of the technical fine print in Corbin's announcement post over on the DCEmulation forums.

This newly released preview build (which you can download here) includes the demo versions of the first and second game, along with Jack in the Dark as a bootable CDI which you can burn to a CD-R or run on an emulator. An Alone in the Dark 3 demo is missing from this build as that game is not fully implemented yet.

Speaking of development, Corbin mentioned at the end of the announcement that this release functions as an apology for "past problems shipping games", most likely referring to the previously announced —but still unreleased— Dreamcast titles SLaVE and Hypertension. The post was then signed off with "this is far from the only major announcements we have for this year"... Could 2026 finally be the year we hear more about these two titles? Well, watch this space, I guess.

***

It sounds like 2026 could be be a good year for fans of the Dreamcast and survival horror. Leave an "eeeeeeek" in the comments if you can hardly contain your excitement.

Dream Table Poker — New Dreamcast Game in Development will Include Online Multiplayer

The newest indie title for the Sega Dreamcast comes from Glowhare Studio in the form of Dream Table Poker, which is currently being developed.

It’s a poker simulation which features a number of different ways to play for solo players against the “smartest poker AI for the 128-bit era”, as well as local multiplayer for up to four players. There are even strong possibilities for online play via DreamPi, which would be absolutely mega.

Rather interestingly, and perhaps the most unique part of Dream Table Poker is that it fully utilises the VMU display on your controller to show your cards away from the main screen, so that local multiplayer games become a whole lot more fun!

But the even cooler news is that there will be a Dreamcast Junkyard themed table and card deck available in the game as well!

It’s locked behind a cheat code (just to make things extra old school) which will remain a secret for now, but it will be shared at some point when the game gets a public release. An early build was released onto itch.io back in October, but this is now unavailable as the dev wants the final release to be everyone’s first impression of the title. 

The game is still in the early stages, so we’ll not fully preview Dream Table Poker quite yet; but once we get hold of a newer build from Glowhare Studio, you can expect a full rundown of how the game is shaping up from your favourite Dreamcast news source.

The Sega Dreamcast Controller is Getting a Second Analog Stick — Dream Color Plus Mod Update

The Sega Dreamcast was the only console of the sixth generation to have a controller with a single analog stick. (Yes, the GameCube did technically have a second analog stick, you’ve just got to squint a bit.) This lack of a second stick is a criticism often directed at the Dreamcast’s controller, and is even sometimes erroneously cited as a reason for the console’s downfall. Sure, having two sticks might have greatly improved a few first-person shooter games for those without Sega’s own mouse and keyboard, but the dual-analog control scheme that is now standard in modern gaming wasn’t really popularised until Halo: Combat Evolved came out on the Xbox (I know it came earlier with Alien Resurrection, but have you seen how much reviewers hated the way that game controlled upon release?)

Quake III Arena. Credit: Dreamcast Live

For those who want to play games like Quake III Arena with a regular pad the modern way, methods have existed for years to connect and remap dual-analog controllers —like those of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One— to the Sega Dreamcast. But what about a standard Dreamcast controller with dual sticks? A few months back, we reported on an upcoming mod for the Dreamcast’s controller called Dream Color Plus, which not only makes it wireless but also allows it to display Visual Memory Unit graphics in colour, simply by replacing the existing PCB with a new one. While chatting with one of the fine gents involved in the project, Nai Adventure, he gave us a full rundown of the features the DC+ would include, so check out that interview to learn more about the specifics of all these. One thing he did mention during that conversation was the possibility of the DC+ accommodating dual sticks. Well, the developers revealed their prototype build demonstrating exactly that. Thanks to Rapaz in our Discord for bringing it to our attention.

The Dream Color Plus prototype controller board with a second stick. 

During a livestream last night, Angelo Pontes, designer of the DC+ PCB, showed off a revised prototype version that includes a second analog stick. Of course, to accommodate this brand new (ahem) appendage, a new front shell for the controller would need to be created, and so this was 3D printed. You can see the 3D printed shell below. From what I understand, the print model will be open-source, meaning it will be available to the masses to print themselves, although backers of this project’s upcoming crowdfunding campaign will get the option to request one.

Dream Color Plus plus second stick plus 3D printed shell (plus, plus)

Most importantly, the team confirmed they’ve got the second stick working. The Dreamcast's maple protocol actually supported two analog sticks officially, it's just that the console never had a controller that had them! Believe it or not, both Quake III Arena and Unreal Tournament were actually programmed to natively support two analog sticks, and will reportedly work with the DC+'s dual-stick setup straight out of the box. For games that don't have this compatibility, some button remapping will need to be done by the player in-game, or changed on the Dream Color Plus’ VMU display. The DC+'s dual sticks will also work with games that support the Dreamcast Twin Stick peripheral, like Cyber Troopers Virtual-On Oratorio Tangram, and even indies like Xeno Crisis and Postal.

I did wonder if the placement of the stick so close to the face buttons could pose a usability issue, but Nai Adventure has said the final version won’t have the analog stick so close (Update 23/03: a much improved stick position can be seen here). He also confirmed that for those just wanting to get a Dream Color Plus with a single analog stick, the option will also be available. Additionally, he let me know that the final version will include a built-in microphone, so the list of features just keeps on growing.

Here's a great clip Nai Adventure put on Twitter of the prototype Dream Color Plus' dual-analog control in action, being used with the Dreamcast port of Grand Theft Auto III. Two things we thought would never be possible on Dreamcast!

GTA 3 on DreamColor Plus!

• Color screen
• Rumble
• Microphone
• 2 real analog sticks
• Wireless
• Save data on SD card

The DreamColor Plus campaign goes live this weekend:
https://t.co/s9OfCEHHBf

If you're at DevGame Show, come try it firsthand! 🚀 pic.twitter.com/r4u3umUuuT

— Nai Adventure (@YTNaiAdventure) March 12, 2026

It really seems like the Dream Color Plus is looking to course-correct some of the limitations of the original Dreamcast controller. Dual-analog controls, colour VMU graphics, wireless connectivity, on-board memory, built-in rumble, a microphone, and with no soldering? That all sounds great on paper. It’ll be interesting to see how everything works once we get our hands on it. Nai Adventure has confirmed a crowdfunding campaign will launch for Dream Color Plus this Saturday.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is being ported to Sega Dreamcast

Over the last year we've seen a veritable glut of Nintendo 64 titles ported to the Dreamcast, and as someone who owned Nintendo's 64-bit console back in the day (and still has a soft spot for the console's particular brand of soft-filtered visuals), it brings a certain warmth to my cockles to see some of these titles running on Sega's swansong. 

Thus far, mainly via the magic weaved by one jnmartin84, we've been treated to stellar ports of DOOM 64, Mario Kart 64, Super Mario 64 and Star Fox 64 (or Lylat Wars, if you grew up in a PAL territory). Looks like we're about to get another one of the N64's blockbuster titles gracing the Dreamcast in the near future though, as an anonymous developer has recently released a preview build of a port of none other than The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Feast your eyes on The Sega Guru's exclusive first look at this witchcraft below:

The Legend of Zelda series, and more specifically Ocarina of Time, holds a dear place in my heart as it was actually the first Zelda game I became totally and utterly obsessed with when I picked it up during the first half of 1999 (hey, the Dreamcast hadn't launched in the UK yet so I needed to fill my time with something!).

The blue Cyalumes are always sold out

As you can see from the video above, this very early release isn't simply the full game playable from start to finish, instead requiring players to select certain maps/areas to play from a menu. Further, some of the textures, especially on the item select and map screens, are a bit glitched. However, as stated this is super early, and from the footage posted by Alex (aka The Sega Guru), the basics all look to be there.

The music is present and correct, the game appears to run with a fairly consistent frame rate and at a higher resolution than the Nintendo 64 original, and the familiar locations you'll have spent hours traversing are all recreated...but this time on Dreamcast. Of course, Ocarina of Time has been released on other Nintendo platforms since 1998, all of which boast cleaner visuals and other enhancements, but I'm sure you'll agree it's something of a marvel to see it now running so well on Sega's hardware.

Hyrule Field is reassuringly free of scrotes on Sur-Rons

No doubt Nintendo will already be aware of this port and be getting ready to drop the hammer on it from a great height, hence why the mysterious developer wishes to remain anonymous at this point. That said, the other Nintendo 64 to Dreamcast ports we've been treated to previously seem to have (so far) evaded the attention of the ninjas in Nintendo's legal team...so who knows where this could lead. We're sure you'll agree though that this is exciting stuff, either way. 

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments, and of course feel free to go and drop a like (or a follow or whatever the kids call it) on Alex's channel.

Now you can explore the world of Crazy Taxi...in your browser

First up, props go to PC Gamer for bringing this cool little news snippet to my attention. What am I talking about? Well, it appears that a very talented computer programmer (and fairly accomplished writer, I might add) named Will has shoehorned the Original and Arcade city maps from Crazy Taxi into the level viewing portal at noclip.website (scroll down to the 'Experimental' heading under the 'Games' list and you'll find Crazy Taxi). 

Noclip is a self described 'digital museum of videogame levels,' and a quick browse around the site will reveal a host of environments and stages ripped from a wide range of games which have been uploaded in their entirety; and they're all freely explorable using the mouse to look and the keyboard to move. I remember a long time ago I wrote about a similar project for (sadly defunct) retrogaming site RetroCollect, where some genius had managed to make the circuits from WipEout fully explorable via a disembodied camera. Well, thanks to Will and his work at (the sublimely titled) wretched.computer, the same is now possible in both of the playable environments from Crazy Taxi.

The blurb over at wretched.computer goes into extreme detail as to how this sorcery was achieved, and reveals that the stages uploaded to noclip are actually from the Nintendo Gamecube port of Crazy Taxi, as opposed to the original Dreamcast port. Following the link to noclip will allow you to enter the sun drenched environs of Crazy Taxi's pseudo California-esque landscape and gawp at all those polygonal landmarks you probably only ever caught a glimpse of as you tried to deliver Father White to the eerily empty church, or the heavily pregnant Maria to Boarder's Paradise before she dropped her sprog in the back seat of Gus's cab. Or the timer ran out...whichever came first.

Interestingly, there are also fully explorable recreations of Jet Set Radio's Tokyo-To districts at noclip, which are fascinating to whizz around. Personally I'd love to see Metropolis Street Racer one day appear as a fully explorable destination, but for the time being we'll have to make do with that game's unlockable free roam mode to sample the delights hidden within.

Have you messed about with noclip's awesomeness? And which Dreamcast game environments would you like to be able to freely explore? Let us know in the comments.

8BitMods' BitLink DC Kit Promises to Make Wireless Dreamcast Gaming a Breeze

With Sega never providing a wireless control solution for the Dreamcast themselves, the task of creating one has fallen on aftermarket companies and fans alike. There's a load of options out there: you've got controller options like Chris Daioglou's DreamConn — arguably the best solution overall, though it comes at a higher price point. Chris even created a wireless Dreamcast keyboard, in the form of the KeyConn. A more affordable alternative controller-wise is the StrikerDC Wireless from Retro Fighters, which has had been praised by those who have used it, but has compatibility issues with Dreamcast games that utilise Windows CE, and potentially corrupts saves when used with the VMUPro. If you’d prefer to use a different wireless controller altogether, or maybe a keyboard you have lying around, several adapters are available. These include the now hard-to-find Brook Wingman SD, BlueRetro adapters, and plenty of others, giving players more flexibility when it comes to wireless control methods for the Dreamcast (we know you lot love to tell everyone how much you hate the Dreamcast's original controller!)

8BitMods, the creators of the VMUPro, are throwing their collective hats into the ring with the BitLink, a new method that looks to give Dreamcast gamers the best of both worlds: not only by turning your existing stock Dreamcast controller into a wireless wonder through some easy modification, but also giving the option of allowing other controllers —both wired and wireless— to connect to the console.

The BitLink comes in two colours, classic white and smoke black, and consists of two parts. The larger piece, the "adapter," resembles a Dreamcast rumble pack, and slots into the second slot of your Dreamcast controller. To install it, you need to disassemble your controller and connect it via the "included cable to the controller's internal JST port," with no soldering required. There has been some confusion about how the controller will look once modded, with many asking whether the unused cable will just be dangling out the bottom of the controller, or if there will just be a hole where it once was. Hopefully 8BitMods will clear up some of the confusion soon.

Once done, your controller becomes wireless, with rumble, on-board storage (four virtual flash memory cards worth), and a battery that will also charge your VMUPro if you insert into slot one. It supposedly will also have "motion control", and we're intrigued to see how that can be utilised...

The thing that makes this adapter talk with the system is the dongle (pictured below), which can also use Bluetooth and 2.4gHz to link up other wireless controllers, keyboards, and computer mice. To charge, simply plug a USB-C cable from the dongle into the adapter in your controller. The dongle’s USB-C port can also be used to connect up wired controllers and keyboards. It will also apparently connect to some kind of built-in web interface via Bluetooth, which will allow for controller customisation (some second stick action in Quake III Arena, maybe?)

8BitMods' product page suggests that this too will have its own built-in storage, which would make sense, as they are offering the dongle on its own at a cheaper price of £26.99, while the "kit" —which will include both the adapter and the dongle— is priced at £69.98.

If you want to learn more, check out the product pages by clicking here. Pre-orders go live this Friday at 6PM GMT / 1PM EST.

Show Report — Bristol Video Games Expo 2026

This past weekend I once again attended Bristol Video Games Expo; a gaming event hosted by friend of the Junkyard, Alex "The Sega Guru". Alex and his team have been hosting retro gaming events for a while now (you might remember our report of Nottingham Video Games Expo back in 2022) and every show just seems to get bigger and better.

If you've never attended an expo like this before, you can expect to enjoy a whole load of retro gaming goodness all crammed into one place. You've got retro game sellers (some independent, some bigger resellers), cosplay areas, retro game machines to play, new indie releases being demonstrated, and some really great talks and panels from different industry people.

Bristol Video Games Expo in full flow.

The Bristol show didn't disappoint. There was far too much goodness amongst the various tables in the hall for me to mention everything, but outside of the many traders, it was great to see John Riggs from Rigg'd Games there with Dreamcast copies of the excellent Chew Chew Mimic up for grabs. Debug were also in attendance, with a bounty of magazines and Dreamcast indie titles for sale. There was a great selection of brand new indie games from different systems being shown off, with Crisis Island —a twin-stick shooter that takes inspiration from Time Crisis— being my personal "best indie game of the show" winner.

One of my particular highlights of the entire event was seeing Duncan Gutteridge —the original artist of Sonic the Hedgehog— onsite to not only sell some brilliant signed Sonic artwork prints, but also give a live talk about how he got into the industry and ended up working for Sega; all whilst live illustrating Sonic on stage. Fantastic.

 Duncan Gutteridge, the original Sonic artist, during his live illustration.

As well as Duncan, the VGE team had lined up talks on the main stage from the likes of James Hannigan (BAFTA award winning game composer who worked on the likes of Runescape, Harry Potter, and Command and Conquer), Frank Gasking (author of the Games That Weren't book) and The Oliver Twins, who need no introduction! An eclectic mix of gaming personalities, all offering some great insight into the industry.

As for me, I picked up a few things; some retro reading material from The Gaming Newsagent, a few racing games on various consoles that I didn't already own, and two Dreamcast games for the collection; a PAL copy of Incoming and the Japanese version of Sega GT. 

My personal pickup haul from Bristol VGE.

As an aside, I'm constantly amazed at how well the Japanese seem to look after their games. Most I've picked up are always in incredible condition and when I popped open Sega GT, I was very happy to find some really cool stickers amongst the many original inserts as well!

Free car stickers with Sega GT!

All in all, I had a great day at Bristol VGE and I'm looking forward to the next one. VGE have events planned in Norfolk and Nottingham in the coming months, and it's worth checking out their website as they often add new events as the year rolls on.

If you're a retro gaming fan and you've yet to experience an expo like this, I'd wholeheartedly recommend attending one. Entry tickets are around the cost of a couple of cups of coffee, and you'll have a blast playing some games, adding a few trinkets to your collection and, perhaps the best thing: meeting a whole load of likeminded people.

Marc, The Gaming Newsagent, with a selection of magazines and books.

The Oliver Twins take centre stage.

Indie developers showing off their latest releases to the public.

Memories of One Last Dream — Sneak Peek of Continue Magazine Vol. 88 (and How to Win a Copy)

The cover of Vol. 88 of Continue Magazine featuring the design classic Dreamcast swirl.

Although the Junkyard is almost an entirely online operation, our editorial collective has always harboured a love for print media. Sure, broadcasting your ramblings to a global audience via the world wide web is neat, but there is also something undoubtedly special about holding a book or magazine in your hands - the texture of the paper, the smell of the ink, the coffee mug rings on the cover and all that jazz. As laid bare in my prior Junkyard posts, and our latest DreamPod episode, I too am afflicted by a borderline unhealthy obsession with Dreamcast magazines. Therefore, when I was trawling eBay looking for old issues to scan and happened to lay eyes on the latest issue of Continue magazine, with its tantalisingly minimalist cover advertising a Dreamcast special feature, I knew I had to get my grubby mitts on a copy.

Of course, as this is a contemporary magazine which is still very much alive and kicking, scanning the entire mag or even the special section is out of the question. However, following a long honoured Junkyard tradition (sometimes titled “Let’s take a look at”), I am able to share my humble thoughts on its contents, along with a few choice snapshots and info on where readers can purchase this product themselves. 

So, here we go. Let’s take a look at Continue Volume 88…

Continue: The Story so Far

Continue, or Continue Motion Graphic to use the full title, is a Japanese magazine that describes itself as “the world's greatest otaku, subculture, and entertainment magazine”. Its first issue was published in March 2001, arriving on newsstands at a time when the Dreamcast was in a peculiar state of limbo - officially discontinued, but with several more years of software releases ahead of it (in Japan, at least). Published by Ohta Publishing Company on a quarterly basis through until the end of 2002, it then picked up pace, publishing bimonthly through until February 2010 when what would appear to be its final issue appeared. 

Top: Three covers from the initial run of Continue (2001-2010).
Bottom: Three covers from the revived run of Continue (2018-Present).
Cover artwork © Continue Motion Graphic.

Fortunately that wasn’t the case. In 2018, Ohta decided to shake Continue out of its lengthy hibernation, spruce it up, and put the magazine back to work, with little change in terms of its scope. Since its revival, the magazine has been published continually on a bimonthly basis, with each issue containing coverage of contemporary and retro gaming (among other 'otaku' topics) over a span of 120 pages or so. 

As someone who has only just come across the mag, my understanding of it, beyond what I’ve been able to glean from internet sources, is admittedly shallow. According to the blurb on RetroMags, right from its early days Continue was characterised by an avoidance of “fluff” previews, in favour of more considered coverage of games and the gaming industry, along with in-depth interviews. And, flicking through Volume 88, that description seems to hold up…

Volume 88: Memories of One Last Dream

The first pages of the special feature with a snap of one fine looking Dreamcast. 
Magazine content © Continue Motion Graphic, 2026.

Front and centre in this issue (or should I say volume?!) is a special 48-page feature on Sega’s swansong console aptly titled “Memories of One Last Dream”. The remainder of the issue has a variety of other neat features too, including a 2025 Game of the Year section, but given our remit, I will exclusively focus on the former item. Broken down into its constituent parts, the Dreamcast feature encompasses:

• Brief reviews of 24 games;
• Two full page panel comic strips (including one where the Dreamcast meets the PS5);
• An interview with Akira Nishino and Takaharu Terada (focused on Sakura Taisen, aka Sakura Wars);
• An interview with Yosuke Okunari (Dreamcast and Sega-wide discussion);
• An interview with Tadashi Takezaki ((Dreamcast and Sega-wide discussion); and
• A reproduction of Sega of Japan's 31 Jan 2001 "To everyone who supports Sega" message addressing the end of the Dreamcast and the shift to third-party software development.

All of the above is laid out beautifully, with the text interspersed between some extremely clean shots of the console and its paraphernalia, some interesting photos of Sakura Wars sketches and concept artwork, and of course, some shots of the interviewees during their in-person interviews (photography by Kazuki Ohashi and Hiroyuki Matsuzaki).

Left: Examples of the brief game reviews. Right: Sketches and concept artwork for Sakura Taisen.
Magazine content © Continue Motion Graphic, 2026.

The 24 games that are selected to be reviewed/highlighted are invariably bangers and would make a decent menu for those new to the console. They include the iconic titles that were big hitters in western markets like Sonic Adventure, Crazy Taxi and Jet Set Radio, as well as a smattering of more understated delights like Death Crimson 2, Segagaga, and The Typing of the Dead. For incorrigible DC obsessives like us though, these reviews are unlikely to be of much interest. After all, we have probably played the featured titles many times over, and have little desire for our stubbornly held views on them to be challenged (ok, maybe that last part is just me). 

The mag's main hook then, beyond the admittedly gorgeous aesthetics, is its interviews with those who helped make Sega tick during the Dreamcast era. For those of us who don’t comprehend Japanese, an extremely rough inkling of what is said can be ascertained using a translation app of one sort or another. Of course, this method is replete with potential issues, and cannot match the touch of a skilled human translator. We're hopeful that Ohta may permit us to translate and publish one of the three interviews in English, but until then, here is a rough synopsis of each:

Akira Nishino and Takaharu Terada are interviewed about the Sakura Taisen series, whose multiple releases on the Dreamcast were central to the identity of the console in Japan. They have both been employed by Sega since the 90s and took up key roles in the creation of the Sakura Taisen game series. They speak about the creative process; the generosity of other Sega colleagues; brainstorming over late night beers; their desire to ensure Sakura Wars 3 utilised everything the Dreamcast hardware had to offer; and much much more. Perhaps the most poignant moment discussed is when the news arrived that Sakura Wars 4 would be developed as a proper-finale for the Dreamcast, despite the fact that Sega had already ceased production of the console.

Akira Nishino and Takaharu Terada proudly pose with an extensive range of Sakura Taisen/Sakura Wars games released for the Dreamcast, along with the special edition version of the console. 
Magazine content © Continue Motion Graphic, 2026. 

Yosuke Okunari, a Sega employee since 1994 who is renowned for his knowledge of the company, gives a wide ranging interview about the Dreamcast as "one last dream". He speaks about the period between the end of the Saturn and the start of the Dreamcast when hard decisions had to be made about whether games in development should shift to the new consoles; about Sega's self-reflective (self-deprecating?) advertising campaigns of the era; the split between Sega's different development arms (Overworks, Smilebit, Sonic Team); and Phantasy Star Online representing "the dream come true", among many other topics. 

Yosuke Okunari giving it the big 'un in a suave Sega jacket. 
Magazine content © Continue Motion Graphic, 2026.

Tadashi Takezaki, a marketer for Sega between 1993 and 2015, provides insights into a whole host of topics that are regularly mulled over by Sega enthusiasts including: the decision to cease the Saturn (despite it performing well within Japan) in a bid to return Sega to global success; the strategic choices made regarding the Dreamcast's hardware, aesthetics and its launch date; the lack of a "killer app" among Japan's four launch titles; and the prominence of innovative and cutting-edge games in the Dreamcast's library. Perhaps the key detail though, is where Takezaki explains how, once Sega had decided to discontinue the Dreamcast, he arranged for Sega to directly and warmly address its fans in what is referred to as the "To everyone who supports Sega" message, instead of only publishing a matter-of-fact press release.

Snaps of Tadashi Takezaki in mid-flow during his interview.
Magazine content © Continue Motion Graphic, 2026. 

Those seeking to get their hands on Continue Magazine Vol. 88 should visit its dedicated page on the publisher’s platform, which gives numerous options for it to be bought physically or digitally at a price of 1,980 yen (roughly a tenner). 

How to Enter Our Competition

This competition has now ended.

Of course, one lucky reader could also get their hands on a physical copy of the mag by winning our competition. Entrants simply need to email us and tell us which of the three interviews featured in Continue Vol. 88 they would most like to see published in English and why (in less than 50 words). They must do so by no later than Sat 28 March, and be located in the UK or Europe only (apologies, delivery costs elsewhere are too high for this rag-tag non-profit outfit). 

Our hope is that Ohta Publishing will give us permission to translate and publish one of the interviews featured in Continue Vol. 88 here on the Junkyard blog. Once we know what readers preferences are we will crack on with pleading for permission.

Segagaga has Finally Been Translated into English — Here's How to Play It (and How it was Achieved!)

The headline you see above is not some form of freaky clickbait, nor is it a two-month-early April Fool’s prank. It is, however, signalling one of the biggest pieces of Sega Dreamcast news that we will probably ever report here on this website. Some thought it would never happen, but the day has finally arrived: Segagaga is now playable in English, thanks to the work of a team of dedicated fans led by Exxistance. If you just want to know how to play the translation, skip to the end of this article, where you will find a link to a download and instructions on how to apply the patch to your existing disc image of Segagaga. But we felt it was important to document the technical feats which made this holy-grail translation possible — and to ensure that those responsible receive the recognition they deserve. So read on if you want to learn more!

If you’ve spent more than ten minutes in Dreamcast fan circles, you’ll undoubtedly be aware of Segagaga, a 2001 Japan-exclusive RPG that tasks players with running Sega as it tries to regain market share against its main competitor, DOGMA (Sony, basically). Developed by Hitmaker and published by Sega, the game is well known for its wacky humour (much of it at Sega’s own expense) as well as its abundance of references to the company’s past IPs. Because of this, Segagaga has retained an almost mythical quality among Western Dreamcast fans, and from the moment it became clear the game wouldn’t be released outside of Japan, it has without a doubt been the most anticipated English translation of any game in the console’s library.

But as I'm sure you're aware, Segagaga's translation journey has been wrought with roadblocks. Many projects have started up over the years, only to inevitably fizzle out. But as we previously mentioned at the top of our interview with Segagaga’s creator, Tez Okano, the reason for the game’s multiple-decade stint in translation hell wasn’t due to a shortage of skilled translators capable of handling its distinctly Japanese humour, but rather a series of daunting technical hurdles.

The primary challenge stemmed from Segagaga's use of the Dreamcast’s BIOS font, as editing it was thought to be impossible for the longest time. What's more, the game only supported Shift-JIS encoding for text, a common two-byte format for Japanese language that was widely used in video games of the era (and still is today, though typically alongside ASCII or UTF support). Without changing the game to retrieve narrower Latin alphabet characters from the BIOS instead, the original Shift-JIS would leave the in-game text looking horrible, and too big to fit in numerous places.

Demonstration of Shift-JIS encoding, provided by Derek Pascarella.

By contrast, many other Japanese Dreamcast titles rely on their own internal font sheets, unique to each game, meaning that savvy hackers can go in and swap a Japanese font sheet for an English one, adjusting spacing between characters, along with other necessary tweaks. Because of this, these games were able to see successful translations much sooner, and form the majority of past fan translations we've seen for the console over the years. 

After two decades of unsuccessful attempts at translating Segagaga, it was time to bring in the big guns. Cracking a technical nut this tough required a meeting of some of the most talented minds the Dreamcast scene has to offer, including megavolt85, mr.nobody, VincentNL, Derek Pascarella, and madsheep. If it weren’t for them, I can only imagine how much longer it would have taken for us to see this translation become a reality… perhaps another decade?

In steps megavolt85, hacker extraordinaire, who was one of two previously responsible for making it possible for Atomiswave games to be ported to Dreamcast. On megavolt's input, Derek Pascarella explains:

"megavolt85 modified Segagaga to interpret ASCII, the single-byte encoding commonly used for the Latin alphabet. Not only that, but he modified the game to read from the ASCII section of the BIOS font, rather than the Shift-JIS section."

The next step was to make it so that ASCII from the BIOS could be edited. This was where Derek worked his magic, and shares how he made it happen:

"Segagaga speaks directly to the Dreamcast’s BIOS when it comes time to render text on screen. After megavolt85 did all of the assembly hacking to force the game to interpret ASCII-encoded text and then pull from the ASCII section of the BIOS font (rather than Shift-JIS), I started poking around a bit to see how it all worked. What I discovered is that the game actually copies the entirety of the BIOS font into RAM pretty near the location where the game executable ends! So, I disabled the assembly code that performed this copy, then also disabled the code that null’d out that portion of RAM before doing the copy. I then appended the BIOS font to the end of the game executable, and just like that, the font data was precisely where the game expected it to be, and it could be modified! This came in handy a number of times as font glyphs needed tweaking for optimal appearance."

See how much better ASCII looks in comparison:

Demonstration of ASCII encoding, provided by Derek Pascarella.

It appeared that the first-documented Segagaga translation patch project —which began in 2006— did manage to make progress in this regard, but unfortunately wouldn't see an update past 2013. While nothing technical from that previous project would make it into this one, project lead and texture artist Exxistance reveals that he was still able to utilise a wealth of other archived community resources.

"What was helpful [...] were the various artefacts people left on the internet, including the FAQs on GameFAQs that were created back in the mid-00s. Those were especially useful in helping me get my bearings as I initially worked through the game. Other helpful resources included The1Ross’ Open Source Translation Project, as well as various YouTube videos like Korone’s full playthrough of the game."

It was actually on a Dreamcast-Talk forum thread initially created to share The1Ross' project, where Exxistance would post his English-translated edits of Segagaga's textures. From there, mr.nobody —who previously worked on the English fan translation of Dreamcast horror title Seven Mansions— would get in contact with Exxistance.