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| Credit to Dreamcast Enjoyer for the Virtua Fighter 3TB background. |
The scorching summer heatwave has finally dissipated, providing me with the opportunity to sit here and type up a Dreamcast news round-up without melting into my creaky computer chair. Fortunately though, while I've been lounging around outside, Mr Freeze in hand and with the neighbours clingy cat at my feet (Trevor, generally chill, occasionally bitey), others in the scene have been busy cooking up all sorts of goodness. And, really, given the variety on display, there should be something here to suit everyone's tastes...
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| One of the few consumer goods to have avoided the savage inflation of recent years. I'm still waiting for a response to my enquiry about a DCJY edition though - call me back Mr Freeze! |
News from the Indie Front
The stream of commercial indie releases on Sega's swansong console has definitely slowed over the last year or two. During the frenetic period that roughly coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, dozens of titles were being published each year, and the pipeline of forthcoming games was packed. In hindsight, maybe that was never sustainable in the long-run, and it is feasible that the market became a little oversaturated. Who knows, maybe I'll scribble a deeper dive into the phenomenon soon, but regardless, the indie market is certainly far from finished and there is still plenty to look forward to.
Undoubtedly deserving of top billing here is the launch of the Sovietborgs crowdfunder by Dreamcast scene heavyweights Retro Sumus. After blessing us with the sublime Xenocider in 2021, this European development outfit took a well deserved break, but thankfully, last year we began to hear them stirring again. This time around they are pitching a top-down run 'n' gun game set in a parody world where the Soviet Union won the Cold War (and Gorbachev didn't end up starring in Pizza Hut adverts). Ample detail is available on the IndieGoGo page, so I won't regurgitate it all here. The campaign has around three weeks left to run, and the crew are 57% of the way towards their £41k funding goal. Here at the Junkyard we're hoping Retro Sumus are successful - if anyone is deserving of backing, then it is scene-stalwarts like them!
In other recent news, Gladmort, the 2D action-platformer that pays homage to titles like Ghouls 'n Ghosts, Metal Slug and Magician Lord, has been landing on the doormats of nerds all around the globe. Lewis was enamoured with the game's visual panache when he covered its KickStarter launch last year, and now we'll get to see if it lives up to his (and others) expectations. Those who missed the pre-orders but are now interested can pick up a copy from Pixelheart should they wish. I didn't take the plunge on this one, but a couple of our other writers-at-large did - hopefully one will turn out a review (yeah, Mike, that means you, buddy).
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| The PAL edition of Gladmort. Photo courtesy of MikeRox. |
Elsewhere, occasional updates continue to arrive about the handful of other indie titles that are in the oven. A few days ago, the good folks at JKMCorp let us know that Shadow Gangs Zero is making steady progress and that the Dreamcast version is expected to be ready in early 2026. Orc Face Games, who published The Storied Sword earlier this year, are juggling several projects. In late April they announced that Chew Chew Mimic was available to pre-order (for a mere £15 a piece), but their latest news is that the Dream Disc '24 build is tested and "good to go", which hopefully means that discs will be printed soon. Ross of Orc Face has admitted that development of their key title HarleQuest! has slowed as a result of these other initiatives, but nevertheless, transparent KickStarter updates continue to arrive on a steady basis, and the latest post (May 2025) notes that the aim is to get the game to a content-complete state by the end of Q3 2025. Personally, as long as the game gets there in the end, I wouldn't begrudge a few delays - Orc Face are doing a lot of good for the scene and are worthy of some patience...
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| A work-in-progress version of the Dream Disc '24 demo disc cover. |
Whopping Big Translations
Anyone with even a passing interest in the Dreamcast will know that the Japanese market received swathes of titles that never saw the light of day over here in Europe or across the pond in the States. However, thanks to some plucky and selfless people who dedicate hours to producing translations, this disparity has been gradually chipped away at over the years.
Most recently, bigbanana23 (look, that it a perfectly good username alright?) announced that they have begun translating Capcom's multi-volume RPG El Dorado Gate. Spanning seven(!) entries on the Dreamcast, which, if you are lucky enough, you can pull together in a neat slipcase, this title has undoubtedly been high on the wishlists of many for a long time now. Clearly it is still early doors on this project, but the initial signs are looking positive.
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| A complete set of El Dorado Gate, including the snazzy green slipcase. |
It also fills my heart with joy to see that Exxistance is inching ever closer to being able to release their translation of the iconclastic Segagaga. This month they released a new video which demonstrates how far the project is progressing. Word has it that the aim is to drop this muther as a 25th anniversary patch, which would suggest that 29 March 2026 should be booked off work (and maybe a few days after that actually). Of course, we don't want to apply any undue pressure - when it's ready, it's ready. For now, if you've got Segagaga on the mind, be sure to check out our interview with its creator Tez Okano.
Oh, and how could I make a blog post without mentioning the Italian Stallion himself, Derek Pascarella?! Those with an interest in the technical side of translations should check out his recent social media posts exploring some problem-solving in action on the Love Hina: Suprise Engagement translation (W.I.P).
Dreamcast Online
2025 is proving to be a bumper year for the online multiplayer revival of Dreamcast games. In our April news round-up we reported that Speed Devils Online had been revived thanks to the work of flyinghead and Shuouma. Well, that teamwork has clearly continued to work wonders, as at the end of April the Aero Dancing series (three games in all) was brought back online, and best of all, in May it was announced that the online multiplayer mode of Sega's unique FPS Outtrigger had been revived too.
To connect with Aero Dancing you will need patched version of the game and to set a unique Login ID (instead of the generic 'dream') in your Dreamcast's ISP configuration. Connecting with Outtrigger is simpler though - just run a regular NTSC-U version of the game (the PAL edition sadly had its online mode removed) and connect using standard methods. Full connection guidance can be found over at dreamcastlive.net, and if you are looking to schedule a match, we'd highly recommend the Sega Online Discord server.
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| Outtrigger being played online in 2025. Image nabbed from dreamcastlive. |
Of course, multiplayer was only one aspect of the Dreamcast's online offering - websites with downloads and rankings were also widely available. Last month, Xiden revealed that the website for Star Wars Episode 1 Racer had been restored, with a fully functioning high score leaderboard, pod racer info, strategic tips and more. If you vibe with this game then be sure to get to the top of the rankings before some other chump beats you to it.
Lastly, if you're curious about what the current online scene looks like in terms of hours played and geographical spread, we'd recommend checking out Scrivani's database which has been tracking Dreamcast online usage for quite some time now.
Homebrew Happenings
Unsatiated by bringing widely renowned ports of Doom64 and Wipeout to the Dreamcast, in June we learned that the legend that is Jnmartin84 is now working to port Mario Kart 64 over to our beloved little white box. Although we did get solid kart racers in the form of Looney Tunes: Space Race and Wacky Races, the Dreamcast lacked a top notch first-party kart racer of its own, so to see a clip showing that Jnmartin84 inserted Sonic into the roster makes me wonder if perhaps this Mario Kart port can be bastardised even further to fit more Sega characters. Who would you choose? Let us know in the comments below.
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| Replace the mustache man with Ryo Hazuki and we've got a deal. |
Off the back of the Mario Kart news, our friends over at Sega Saturn, Shiro! also reported on progress that is being made on an improved version of the Super Mario 64 port which surfaced back in 2020. Apparently this new iteration is seeking to fix various graphical glitches and generally improve the game's performance. Given how, uh, protective, Nintendo can be of their intellectual property, we have our fingers crossed that they don't decide to put a stop to either of these ports. For now though, things are looking rosy.
One final homebrew project that we want to shout out is RuneCast (RuneScape for DC) which Lobotomy has been busy working on. In June, they provided a technical update over on Dreamcast Talk, and thankfully, for those of us who have zero understanding of these matters, also uploaded a gameplay video. It's probably been about two decades since I last logged into this game, but once it is up and running on Dreamcast I'll have to see if I can return to my exhilarating tree-chopping and fire-making digital career.
Any Other Business...
OK, this round-up has been rambling on for long enough, and I need to pop over to Tesco before it closes, so I'll end things here with some rapid fire news snippets:
- Bo/Rings of Saturn continues to uncover previously unknown cheat codes for stacks of Dreamcast games - including a code that unlocks the rather intimidating rubber duck character in Surf Rocket Racers.
- 8BitMods formally announced their VMU Pro - a modern take on the VMU - in May, with preorders available for £74.99.
- After many months of uncertainty, Wave Game Studios announced the cancellation of the PAL case version of Driving Strikers and confirmed that the business would be calling it quits.
- The gargantuan (but apparently well performing) Octopus TR fight stick started arriving with backers in June.
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| The hefty Octopus arcade stick. Photo courtesy of MikeRox. |
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What do you make of the latest Dreamcast news? Let us know in the comments below.
Thanks to all our Patreon backers who donate to help us keep the Junkyard on the road. As we are currently above our target income (we seek to cover costs only, nothing more), we won't appeal for new backers right now. Nevertheless, keen readers are encouraged to check out our merch store.
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