Showing posts with label D2. Show all posts
Showing posts with label D2. Show all posts

A Tribute Documentary about D2 Creator Kenji Eno is on the way

A documentary about 90s gaming visionary Kenji Eno is on the way from documentary maker Archipel.

For those unaware, Kenji Eno was a maverick game developer and musician who founded WARP game studios. With WARP, Eno most famously brought us the excellent D trilogy: D, Enemy Zero and D2, the last of which was on the Dreamcast. All three games pushed the boundaries of what people at the time considered a "video game", the latter two of the trilogy in particular experimenting with multiple genres. Eno sadly passed away on February the 20th, 2013, due to heart failure brought on by hypertension.

On the tenth anniversary of Eno's passing, Archipel, a documentary maker that specialises in documentaries "about Japan's creative minds and culture" on YouTube, plan to honour him with a tribute documentary.

Back in October of last year, Archipel announced the documentary was being worked on, saying they'd recieved some "moving testimonials" about Eno, presumably from those who worked with him in the industry. They followed this up seven days ago, when they provided an update, saying they'd wrapped up shooting and that a teaser trailer will be released soon.

Update: On the 20th of February - the anniversary of Eno's death - Archipel finally released their teaser for this documentary. This very sombre clip shows the faces of Eno's friends, colleagues, and family who will be providing testimonials. Many highly regarded creatives from the Japanese video game industry are shown, including Hideo Kojima (Metal Gear Solid), Tetsuya Mizuguchi (Rez, Space Channel 5), Yoot Saito (Seaman), Kenichi Nishi (L.O.L.: Lack of Love), and Fumito Ueda (Ico, Shadow of the Colossus). The teaser ends confirming that the documentary will be out in 2023. Check out the teaser below.

As a huge fan of Eno's work, I'm really excited for this upcoming documentary. Will you give it a watch when it's released? Let us know via our social media channels, or simply by dropping us a comment below.

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Staff Picks: Top 21 Dreamcast Games

With our 2022 Top 200 Dreamcast Games poll coming to a close at the end of March, coinciding with the 21st anniversary of our beloved console’s discontinuation (I would say RIP but she is very much still alive and kicking, if you've been paying attention to anything we've been reporting on in the last few years!), I thought it was time for a peek into the minds of the staff here at The Dreamcast Junkyard. What did WE vote as our top ten Dreamcast games, and how does that look when compiled into a list? Well, let's find out shall we?

Along with myself, I asked Tom, Mike, Brian, Lewis, Kev, James H, James J, Mark and Rich to list their ten favourite Dreamcast titles in order. I took these and did what I seemingly love to do now as I approach my forties - I made a spreadsheet! Everyone's top picks received a score of 10, 2nd place got 9, and so on. I then employed some magic formulas to tally up the totals to give us a definitive top 21 games, using the number of times a game was voted for as a tie-breaker where necessary.

The end result is very interesting! We think there's something here for everyone, and if these were the only games in your collection most people would be pretty happy! There are some surprises, and a few things that, if you've ever listened to the DreamPod, you will not at all be surprised about. 

I'll link you to the spreadsheet itself at the end of this article so you can see the full list of games and how everyone voted, for your agreement or ridicule, but first let us count down these games from last to first. Our first entry is the only joint entry, seeing three games share 19th place...

19. Blue Stinger, San Francisco Rush 2049 & Spirit of Speed 1937 (Joint)

A trio of titles start us off, a couple of which often split the opinion of fans. One thing they all have in common? A commitment to a particular time. Blue Stinger takes place in the year 2000, so each represents a very different era, though released within a short space of each other in reality. Let's hear what some of the team had to say about these games.

Upon its release, Blue Stinger was widely misunderstood and critically dismissed under the umbrella of its survival horror contemporaries. In the decades since, it has emerged a cult classic in its own right. Blue Stinger is Shinya Nishigaki and Climax Graphics' endearing homage/parody of Hollywood action and sci-fi cinema, and it plays wonderfully as a B-movie beat-em-up today. - Brian on Blue Stinger

Rush 2049 embodies everything an arcade racer on Dreamcast should be. It looks great, the tracks are full of inventive shortcuts and hidden nooks and crannies, and the actual racing is tight and exciting. A true Midway game that doesn't take itself too seriously, Rush 2049 is easily one of the best racers on the platform. - Tom on Rush 2049

Spirit Of Speed 1937 is the Dark Souls of racing games. The sad truth is that 99% of people won't play it long enough to experience where its strengths really are. It's a true to the era racer which rewards forward thinking and careful driving - something sim racers will appreciate. - James H on Spirit of Speed 1937

18. Rez

Art? Hacking? No this isn't the latest goings-on over at OpenSea, but instead best encapsulates Rez (besides, this is actually nice to look at). Tetsuya Mizuguchi's rail-shooter may have been minimalist on visuals, but it was heavy on trance beats and addictive gameplay. A gem in the Dreamcast's library and its influence is still felt to this day. - Rich

17. Jet Set Radio

Ahead of it's time in so many ways, Jet Set Radio is held up as one of the shining beacons of unfettered creativity that the Dreamcast is so well known for. From its art style to its music, its gameplay to its reverence for hip-hop and Japanese street culture, JSR is a masterclass in what a video game can be. This is Sega at their most zany, but in the best possible way. Strap on your in-line skates and grab that spray paint can, it's time to get funky! - Andrew

In White 1999: The Time D2's Laura Appeared as a Model in a Japanese Fashion Magazine

Kenji Eno seemed to look at game design differently to other developers. If you've played his major Dreamcast outing D2, you'll know exactly what I mean. He was always pushing the boundaries of what made a game a game. Something he very much championed was the idea of a 'digital actress.' It's a bit of an odd concept to explain, but perhaps the most modern equivalent we have is the likes of Hatsune Miku, a fictional character that has transcended her original source material (as the mascot for a piece of music software) to become a celebrity in her own right, crossing over into other forms of media, almost like she's following some kind of real world career path. 

Laura, created by Kenji Eno, was very similar. She's a familiar face we see in Eno's D trilogy, but in each game she 'plays' a completely different character, in the same way real-life actors play different roles in movies. In D, she is Laura Harris; in Enemy Zero, she is Laura Lewis; and in D2, she is Laura Parton. Despite sharing a similar-looking character model, they are all different characters who are involved in completely separate storylines.
Laura Harris (top left), Laura Lewis (bottom left), Laura Parton (right)

Being the creative genius he was, Kenji Eno's vision for Laura did not end at games. Prior to the release of D2 in Japan, Laura modelled clothes designed by Japanese fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto in the August 1999 issue (no. 268) of the Japanese fashion magazine High Fashion (or simply "HF"). Not only was she included within the issue's pages, she was featured slap-bang on the cover too. 

I can't imagine how stressful it must have been for many hard-working fashion models back in 1999 to have a precious front cover spot pinched from them by a 3D-rendered Dreamcast woman. Below are all the covers of High Fashion from January 1997 to December 1999 (source). Laura definitely stands out amongst the other mortals - a definite case of "one of these things is not like the others".
Video game characters modelling clothes isn't unheard of these days, though. In the last decade, we've seen Final Fantasy XIII-2's troupe of characters model a range for Prada in Summer 2012, while the game's main character Lightning did a virtual shoot for Louis Vuitton in 2016. But this photoshoot of Laura could potentially be one of the first instances of this odd concept to ever occur. 


I was so intrigued, I tracked down this issue with the promise to myself that I'd document it here for the enjoyment of all who love the more esoteric side of Dreamcast lore, and as an extension, the legacy of Kenji Eno and D2. So here we go. I present to you issue 268 of High Fashion magazine. Feel free to click on any of the scans if you want to view a larger version of them.

DCJY welcomes Video Game Esoterica

In the latest episode of our podcast DreamPod, Tom, Lewis and Martin are joined by Anthony Bacon of the excellent Video Game Esoterica YouTube channel. In this episode, we discuss Anthony's YouTube journey thus far, as well as everything odd to do with the Dreamcast, legendary developer Kenji Eno, and his game D2. They even squeeze in some chat about the 3DO's failed follow-up; the Panasonic M2, and even the Apple Pippin. You don't want to miss this one!

Use the embedded player below to listen here on the main Dreamcast Junkyard blog, or alternatively you can grab the episode on either your podcatcher of choice or over on our YouTube channel.

Links to things discussed in the Podcast:

Thanks once again to Anthony - be sure to check out Video Game Esoterica on YouTube and give Anthony a follow on Twitter.

The Haunting D2 Music Box

D2 is a game that famously never received a PAL release, and the Japanese and NTSC-U versions are highly sought after and represent one of the late developer Kenji Eno's finest moments. While it's true Warp also went on to develop another Dreamcast game in Real Sound: Winds of Regret, the Japanese outfit never really revisited the Dreamcast - much to the disappointment of many.

Now, while randomly wandering the annals of YouTube the other day though, I stumbled upon a fascinating video from fellow 'tuber FatalistDC that shows off a rather brilliant yet lesser-known piece of Dreamcast merchandise: a wind up music box that plays the haunting theme tune from D2:


We've looked at myriad examples of Dreamcast-related merchandise in the last couple of years, but I'd never seen (or heard of) this music box prior to a few days ago. To this end, I contacted FatalistDC and asked about the history of the item and he was able to supply the following:

"I got it years ago, searching Yahoo Japan Auctions for items related to D, D2 and Enemy Zero. I found this music box and some D2 mangas too. I quickly bid on them using Shopping Mall Japan. I don't have more info about the item itself or why a D2 music box was released or if there are any more very rare items of D2 memorabilia."
- Fatalist DC

Thanks to FatalistDC for allowing me to share his video here - check out his YouTube channel for Dreamcast centric videos. He did also point me to this article from Gamesniped that details a pretty spectacular Enemy Zero collector's edition, but alas had no more info on the D2 music box. Do you know any more about it or have any similarly lesser known Dreamcast-related collectables? Let us know in the comments or in the Facebook group!

Does it Matter if You're Black or White?

I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that this post will relate to the design shift from white to black in the old US of A-NTSC land. Well, you'd be wrong, I'm not going to talk about that. It's already common knowledge and well understood, though I will just quickly mention that it's supremely handy that both designs use a standard 10.2mm CD jewel case with a clear plastic tray. These are dime-a-dozen and can easily be replaced if you want to return your collection to showroom condition.
Nope, not going to talk about these.

Remembering Kenji Eno


Last month a gaming legend passed away. Kenji Eno is not a household name but his influence on games is massive, creating unique works that have such a unique and mysterious feel to them.


Sega fans will know him best for games like D and Enemy Zero on the Saturn and D2 on the Dreamcast. He also created Real Sound: Kaze no Regret, a game on both the Saturn and Dreamcast that was a audio only adventure, so even blind people could play it. The man was also a musician and composed tracks for Sega Rally 2.

Here is a fantastic article over at Gamasutra about his career and influence. Also, a Dreamcast fan e-mailed me an interview with Kenji Eno discussing D2, scanned from an issue of Gamersrepublic. Check it out below.



Finally here's a video review Caleb did way back in 2007 of D2.

 

D2 Video Review. Rummage! American Style!


My first attempt at a game review video and it shows.

I didn't cover everything I wanted to and the voice-over sucked. Plus the video game footage is poor quality.

Points I couldn't get in:

1. The music in this game was kick ass.

2. The ending movie in this game has a timer showing how much time has passed since 2000. Or I suppose if you played the game in 1999, how long until the new millennium.

3. This game was protested in America by feminist groups, which makes NO sense since it has a female protagonist facing down the ultimate evil all by herself. There is a cut scene where an insane dude shoots a helpless woman IN THE FACE, so it was a pretty intense game. But there really wasn't any anything blatantly misogynistic. Except for the tentacle oral rape of course. But I am sure that monster would have done that to any victim regardless of gender.

4. I wasn't clear on the whole "bootleg" version thing. Due to the insane amount of FMVs in this game copied versions are mostly scaled down graphically and don't look as good as the real thing. Hands down D2 is the most difficult Dreamcast game to copy. Which means you should be like me and get a real copy.

I hope you get the general point. I really liked the game.