Merry 'Castmas! - The Festive Games of the Sega Dreamcast

This time last year, I had almost no time to enjoy the holiday festivities. I was unable to put up a tree or lights, let alone restore holiday cheer to Twin Seeds City. Rather, we were swamped with uprooting our lives, dog, and 15 years’ worth of belongings as we prepared to move across the Atlantic. It made for a hellishly stressful shitmas.

This year is the opposite, mercifully. So far I’ve enjoyed relaxing and rekindling the holiday spirit. I’ve indulged in some longstanding traditions, while adopting several new ones from this side of the pond. The Christmas markets, Sunday roasts, and excessive pints at my locals have helped make this season all the merrier. Of course, I’ve also been playing a bunch of Dreamcast games to help celebrate the season.

Sega’s final console imparted us with a multitude of titles that could be considered festive in one sense or another. Of course, these games will resonate with different folks in different ways. Some are dusted in snowscapes, some are lit with Christmas decor, and some just have festive vibes. Whichever the case, the following games have helped restore my holiday spirit in their own odd and unique ways…

Blue Stinger 

I’ve spilled plenty of ink championing Blue Stinger as a highlight of the Dreamcast’s festive offerings, and its library in general. We’ve also rambled about the game in several of our podcast episodes by this point. In fact, you can listen to our latest DreamPod dedicated solely to Shinya Nishigaki and Climax Graphics’ holiday classic.

Ditching any semblance of survival horror, Blue Stinger teeters a balance of action/beat ‘em up, B-movie camp, and festive vibrancy. Yet that understates how hard it goes on all counts.

Whether you crave gory fisticuffs or holiday cheer, Blue Stinger indulges in both and spares us from all nuance. If you want to obliterate Dinosaur Island’s mutant folk, its vending machines offer a buffet of shotguns, stun rods, rocket launchers, and lightsabers for your destructive delight. And if you want Christmas cheer, it will bury you in an avalanche of neon snowman, chipper earworms, and festive/bizarre Pen Pen cameos. 

Blue Stinger embodies holiday excess and it will charm the shit out of you if you let it.

Christmas moral: We can capture the magic of Christmas with just a little brute force...and tequila.

Beverage pairing: Mistletoe Margaritas

Dessert pairing: Hassy pudding

Song pairing: My friend Angela’s metal karaoke rendition of “Feliz Navidad” followed by this song on loop for 10 hours

Cool Boarders Burrrn! (NTSC-J) / Snow Surfers (PAL) / Rippin’ Riders (NTSC-U)

As a game without a consistent title between regions (for legal reasons), I at least appreciate their alliteration.

Frankly, I’ve always wished I enjoyed UEP System’s Dreamcast snowboarding game more than I traditionally have. I still return to it every couple years thinking that maybe it will finally click. It never fully does but we’ll muddle through somehow.

Perhaps my expectations were overblown by my love for other turn-of-the-millennium snowboarding games. I always balked at Snow Surfers’ stifling rigidity. It offers limited potential for exploration and improvisation, which contrasts unfavorably with the likes of SSX, Amped, and even Steep Slope Sliders. But in its own charming way, that also makes Rippin’ Surfers a unique kind of grind. Countdown timers are unforgiving and tricks are limited to specific launch points (as with other Cool Boarders games). There are just a few viable approaches to each course, which I was compelled to practice ad nauseam to improve my best scores and inch towards more optimal runs.

Unmoored from the expectations of its contemporaries, I found a merry little game in Burrrn Riders. With a little persistence, carving the slopes feels surprisingly serene, and is further bolstered by the chill beats and nifty set pieces. It’s not an expansive game but its simplicity makes it feel oddly cozy.

Christmas moral: Sometimes it’s nice to enjoy games for what they are.

Beverage pairing: Jingle Juice with Mountain Dew

Dessert pairing: Christmas crumble or something with alliteration

Song pairing: “Merry Muthafuckin’ Christmas” by Eazy-E

Shenmue

AM2’s classic Santa stalking simulator needs no introduction here. I’ll just say that — with Shenmue’s dynamic weather system — I had to load through all my Xbox saves, all my PS5 saves, and a dozen VMUs before I finally found a save state where it was actually snowing in Dobuita. After that, I had a jolly time crunching through the snow and following Santa around town as he peddled local boozers to underage teenagers before imbibing at them himself. We couldn’t stay out too late, though. Ryo still had to show up for his forklift job on Christmas Day. 

On a side note, Mark's mandatory, pre-shift forklift races do not pay overtime and that’s fucking bullshit.

Christmas moral: Unionize.

Beverage pairing: Milk

Dessert pairing: Nothing. Ryo doesn’t eat food in Shenmue 1 because he is a ryobot

Song pairing: “Sometimes You Have to Work on Christmas (Sometimes)” by Harvey Danger

Pen Pen TriIcelon

We often take ourselves — and how people perceive our taste in media — way too seriously. But sometimes enjoying something for the hell of it can be its own act of rebellion. And if any video game has the antidote, it’s probably Pen Pen TriIcelon. 

The Pen Pens are unapologetically bizarre and derpy. The downhill courses play out like wintry theme park rides as you slide, swim, and waddle through their psychedelic icescapes. And while jostling all the way through the waddling sections, don’t forget to dive attack your fellow penguins for an extra pinch of chaos. They deserve it, and so do you.

Pen Pen is goofy as hell and we ought to be humble enough to indulge in its irreverence without guilt because it is a fantastic video game, especially with friends.

Christmas moral: Guilty pleasures are bullshit. Permit yourself to enjoy Pen Pen shamelessly. 

Beverage pairing: Eggnog

Dessert pairing: Sugar cookies (and shrooms, probably)

Song pairing: “Jingle Bells” (the Barenaked Ladies version)

Sega Rally 2

Sega Rally 2 will always feel Christmasy to me, and not just because my parents gifted it to me for Christmas back in 1999. 

Several years later, I had just finished my Fall exams at college but still had a couple days before I could leave for Christmas break. I wanted to play something festive to kill the time but I didn’t have many games with me. However, I did have my Dreamcast and figured racing Sega Rally 2’s snowy courses over and over might be close enough. 

And in hindsight, it was. For those couple cozy evenings, I had a jolly time dashing through the snow in my Corolla, drinking Jubelale all the way. Got pretty fucked up on that stuff, honestly.

Christmas moral: Don’t drink and drive, actually.

Beverage pairing: Boundary Bay Cabin Fever, Deschutes Jubelale, or any other winter warmer ale

Dessert pairing: Spritz cookies or whatever’s easy to eat while driving

Song pairing: “Skating” by the Vince Guaraldi Trio

NFL 2K

I received NFL 2K for Christmas alongside Sega Rally 2, so its holiday connection is more literal than thematic. For maximum wintery vibes, I set the weather to 20°F with maximum precipitation at Lambeau Field (or some random California or Florida stadium if I’m feeling spicy). 

That does the trick, though. As the game wears on, the field accumulates snow, which blew my mind as a kid. OK, so maybe it doesn’t so much “accumulate snow” as it generates increasingly frosty textures where grass used to be. Either way, my festive spirit grows with every dropped pass and fumble amid the wintry chaos. It’s pigskin bliss.

Christmas moral: Snow makes every sport better.

Beverage pairing: Miller High Life or Coors

Dessert pairing: Pumpkin pie

Song pairing: “Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow” because (faux) commentator Dan Stevens says it every time it snows

Toy Commander Christmas Surprise / Xmas Edition demo

No Cliché’s Toy Commander Chrismas demo is an obvious cheer bringer. It’s a simple holiday-themed mission featuring a combat jeep, a fighter plane, Santa with a jetpack, some enemies to blow up, a few lost presents to retrieve, and a partridge in a pear tree. It’s a Dreamcast holiday classic, no doubt.

I left my US ODCM demo discs behind when I moved to the UK. I was keen to find another way to play the Toy Commander demo, so I tracked down a couple of Dream On demo discs (TC features in volumes 4, 11, and 16). Depending on the disc, each version features different music, ranging from a nifty EDM banger to generic rock riffs from Speed Devils. (Most of the Toy Commander demos pulled their BGM tracks from other games on their respective discs)

However you play it, the Toy Commander Christmas mission is delightful. But for me, the version on US ODCM’s volume 10 disc really dials up the jolly-meter. If I hadn’t recognized the track from stage four of Kao the Kangaroo, I’d swear it was composed as a Yuletide tune from the get go. It’s a brilliant and festive accompaniment to Father Christmas fetching gifts from the toilet.

Christmas moral: Music makes the vibes.

Beverage pairing: Vin chaud 

Dessert pairing: Bûche de noël

Christmas song pairing: Kao the Kangaroo Stage 4 OST

SnoCross Championship Racing

Many racing games let me settle into a zen-like flow as I master the interplay between their course layouts, physics, and the other nuances of their mechanics. SnoCross affords little such luxury.

If SnoCross embodies any holiday at all, it’s one specific Thanksgiving when I was driving back to my university and a snowstorm rolled in. As the blizzard intensified, it stretched what was typically a two hour drive into ten hours. Navigating treacherous conditions and intermittent freeway closures, I could only stare at the tail lights ahead of me for any hope of guessing where the lanes might be. For ten hours straight, I dedicated every ounce of my attention just to stay on the road. It was a miracle I didn’t slide into any other cars or ditches.

In a similar spirit: SnoCross chucks you atop extremely touchy snowmobiles, and has you navigate tense courses with blind turns en mass. Gently tapping the D-pad and finessing your handling based on the forward fulcrum can help reduce oversteer (and understeer, as parts degrade) but there’s little reprieve from the white-knuckle chaos. If nothing else, SnoCross’ volatile snowscapes and vehicle handling always keep me on my toes. They impart — or rather, impose — the virtue of taking nothing for granted.

I wouldn’t say I’ve gotten used to the quirks of SnoCross but maybe I’m at least more at peace with its chaos. I’m not not having a good time with the game, at least. That’s something right?

Christmas moral: SnoCross captures the perpetual stress of the holidays — and amid perseverance — the lingering uncertainty of whether it’s all really worth it.

Beverage pairing: Redbull

Dessert pairing: Ambien

Song pairing: “Merry Christmas (I Don’t Wanna Fight Tonight)” by the Ramones

The Grinch

OK, so I haven't actually played the Grinch video game. But I do have a theory that Ugly Sonic is a Whovian.

Coincidence? Doubtful.

D2

OK, so I don’t find D2 particularly festive (likely the opposite) but — somewhere between the random battles with abominations and the fucked up body horror — I’ll admit there’s a certain serenity in its Canadian winterscapes.

Actually now that I think about it, D2 would be a very cozy experience if you could skip the opening cutscenes and never leave the cabin at the start of the game.

Beverage pairing: Canadian Club whisky, and enough of it to forget all the disturbing shit you’ll encounter 

Dessert pairing: Mincemeat pie (substitute fruit for actual game meat...or human flesh)

Song pairing: “Jingle Hell” by Christopher Lee

Napple Tale: Arsia in Daydream

Developed by Chime, the Japan-exclusive Napple Tale always seemed like a charming game. Unfortunately, that was lost on me because I was too lazy to learn Japanese in high school. The platforming gameplay felt enjoyable but, lacking context, I wasn’t grasping the true magic of this game. So a few nights ago, I played the English fan-patched version for the first time. 

And holy shit.

Nothing prepared me for how truly endearing and delightful Napple Tale would be. The hub town is bustling with fun activities and side quests to discover. Every character is a vibe and their dialogue is goddamn hilarious. Cardogin and their team’s localization work is beyond stellar, with all the jester rhymes and squid puns you could ever need. And don’t get me started on the incredible soundtrack composed by the legendary Yoko Kanno. It all comes together in what may well be one of the most charming experiences that the Dreamcast — a platform famous for its charming experiences — could ever hope to offer.

Let me be as diplomatic as I possibly can about this: the fact Napple Tale hasn’t been localized everywhere and ported to every modern platform has to be a war crime.

Christmas moral: Napple Tale embodies the pure festive joy that we ought to share all year long, not just at Christmastime

(Editor’s note: it also features winter levels!)

Beverage pairing: Milk, again

Dessert pairing: Straynap’s "chef’s special" ice cream

Song pairing: Yoko Kanno's brilliant Napple Tale OST

***

Alrighty, that's enough rambling for now. Time for some mulled wine and Christmas pudding. Thanks for reading and hope you have a very merry 'Castmas!

- Brian (@JetBrianRadio on bsky)