Dreamcast shooter Trizeal has been Translated into English!

Only days after reporting the news that an English fan translation patch has been released for one Dreamcast shoot 'em up (Under Defeat), we've already received another, and this time it's for Triangle Service's 2005 vertical-scrolling shmup Trizeal. The patch was created by the one and only Derek Pascarella, and I must say, I'm feeling a bit of deja vu...

Fact about this game: the head of its tiny development team begged fans to purchase it upon release because the arcade game it is a port of didn't do that well financially. Despite this, Trizeal is definitely not a title to sniff at. While it isn't often brought up in conversations about Dreamcast shmups, and lacks some of the gimmicks seen in other more acclaimed DC shooters, it is still a high-octane romp that can be enjoyed by any seasoned genre fan.

While the game doesn't have anything in the form of a storyline, Derek's patch translates all Japanese in-game text/graphics, and even improves some instances of English text. Something cool that Derek has also added to this patch is a new unlimited continues option that can be toggled on and off during gameplay by pressing the L and R Trigger buttons simultaneously. A small asterisk will appear next to "1P SCORE" during gameplay to indicate unlimited continues is on.

To download Derek's fan translation patch, just head to its dedicated GitHub page to download it. For detailed steps on how to apply the patch for your desired method of play (i.e. burning to a CD-R, playing on an ODE), see the patching instructions section of the README.

Are you a fan of Trizeal, or are you going to give it a go now this patch has been released? Let us know in the comments below, or by hitting us up on one of various social media channels!

Radirgy De Gojaru! - Radirgy's Terrible 3DS Spinoff

Ah, Radirgy. One of a handful of high-quality shoot 'em ups developed by MileStone Inc. to grace the Dreamcast in Japan, Radirgy boasts a colourful cel-shaded anime style, and a ridiculous plot that follows a protagonist who is allergic to radio waves. It's as Japanese as these shooters come, really, and I bloody love it. Radirgy has enjoyed a quiet cult following over the years, and has received various sequels and offshoots.

A few years ago, I was browsing Wikipedia (as neurodivergent gentlemen like myself tend to do), when I discovered that, sometime in 2014, Radirgy came to the 3DS. "Wow!" I probably thought to myself, "Handheld Radirgy! I need this right away!" When I investigated further, I sadly discovered that it was only available for purchase on the Japanese 3DS eShop, and there was no way for me to access that on my European region locked 3DS (thanks, Nintendo).

Credit: Depressed Sonic

Roll on March 2023, and the 3DS eShop was about to shut down for good, with its final day being the 27th of March. The Wii U eShop has now also shut down too; news I'm sure was received with a resounding whimper (no, it doesn't matter how many times a day retro Twitter tweets it, the Wii U is not "the next Dreamcast"). In this hustle and bustle, I learnt about a certain homebrew application that aims to collect and preserve 3DS eShop games, applications and DLC from many different regions - something which Nintendo clearly has no interest in facilitating (thanks, Nintendo). Using a Wi-Fi connection, the app granted me the ability to download any of this content for free, straight to my hacked 3DS that has the means to install .cia files.

As the app collects games from various regions and bypasses any region locking on your console, I immediately headed to the Japanese section, and lo and behold, there is was: Radirgy De Gojaru!. A moment later, it was downloaded onto my 3DS.

Screenshots taken with Luma3DS.

I booted up the game, and everything looked good at first. The startup menu screen featured the same bouncy electronic music and flat, 2D graphic stylings indicative of Radirgy. But this positive first impression all came crashing down when I actually started the game...

What I was playing looked liked Radirgy. It sounded like Radirgy. I was in control of a ship in a cel-shaded world, shooting at a painfully slow trickle of approaching enemies with the A button, or hacking at them up close with the sword by using the B button. For some reason, though, the background wasn't scrolling. Isn't your ship in Radirgy supposed to gradually move through a variety of constantly changing locales? Instead, I was just locked to a single static background, one which featured nothing exciting; just a load of trees and a grey building at the bottom of the screen. I thought at first that I was playing a tutorial level or something, but no matter how long I played for, this scenery never changed.

On the 3DS' touchscreen, amongst a variety of icons, I could select one of four different weapon options: a wide shot, an x-shot, a shot that shoots from both the front and sides, then finally, the "sword" option, which would make the sword attack more powerful than the bullets I was shooting. While I could freely switch between these options, doing so was weirdly unresponsive, and I often found myself having to hammer the touchscreen just to register my choice. Turns out I needn’t have exerted myself so much, as I soon figured out that just sitting at the bottom of the screen and mindlessly spamming the default wide shot takes care of oncoming enemies with ease. It didn’t take me long to decide I’d had enough. What on earth was I playing?

For you see, dear reader, this game was, in fact, not a port of MileStone's shmup for the 3DS (which is something I would've known if I'd spent just a few minutes with Google), but instead a small, eShop-exclusive spinoff game. Think something in the same vein as DSiWare or PlayStation Minis. This release was not developed by MileStone, but by Klon Co. Ltd., a company formed by ex-MileStone employees after the company closed due to the president getting arrested for violating Japan's Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (he was being shady with money, basically). Klon acquired the rights to previous MileStone properties, and this title, Radirgy De Gojaru!, was released as a result of that.

I'd love to give you a better variety of screenshots. But this was all the game had to offer!

So Klon had the Radirgy license, and they produced... this? Radirgy is beloved for its high energy and zaniness, but what they created here is frighteningly dull. I'm not sure what "Radirgy De Gojaru!" translates to in English, but I can only imagine it means something like "Radirgy: Shed Defender!" Because that's all you do here. Defend a shed. Or a bunker. Or whatever the hell the grey cube at the bottom of the screen is. The game is basically one of those old flash tower defence games with a Radirgy skin, although even those flash games were more enjoyable than this… and they ran better too. I hate to say it's true, but even on my New Nintendo 3DS (the more powerful, upgraded 3DS) this game suffers from slowdown. When the larger enemies are on screen and bullets are flying, the game chugs. Badly. Not even Ryo Hazuki running through Pigeon Park on a rainy day had frames dropping like this.

Believe it or not, this wasn't Klon's only game for 3DS to feature a previous MileStone license. They also released a spinoff of Karous, called Karous: The Beast of Re:Eden, which was actually a more fully-fledged release, featuring multiple levels and modes. It even went as far as to receive a physical release, exclusively in Japan. While I haven't played this one myself, I did find a very informative video about it by Briareos Kerensky, and, despite Klon's best efforts to flesh it out a bit more, Karous: The Beast of Re:Eden is pants too.

Klon folded in 2016, before being succeeded by RS34, Inc., who went on to release the excellent Radirgy Swag for Nintendo Switch in 2019, which is a much more faithful Radirgy title. If you're really looking for a portable Radigy experience, I'd probably just go play that instead. Or, for the diehards, there will always be the original on Dreamcast...

Have you played Radirgy De Gojaru! before? Had you even heard of it? Let us know in the comments below, or by dropping us a line on one of our various social media pages.

Related articles:

• A Quick Look At Radirgy
• Radirgy and Chaos Field now playable in English!

Dashy no Blast - Halloween-themed Dreamcast Demo released!

It's spooky month, people. While I personally have made little to no effort to acknowledge it whatsoever this year (I literally put a pumpkin emoji in my Twitter name, and that's it); retro game developer Voxel definitely has with a brand new demo just in time for All Hallow's Eve...

Voxel is no stranger when it comes to developing for the Dreamcast, as evidenced by his previous projects, such as proof of concepts RUINS and Unfungused Game. 

Voxel's latest project, Dashy no Blast, is a Halloween-themed 3D multi-directional shooter where you take control of a witch flying around on a broomstick shooting an assortment of fiendish ghoulies. 3D graphics in Dreamcast projects are always a welcome sight, and Dashy no Blast is looking really good visually, especially coupled with the spooky aesthetic. Voxel says he's been working on this game's engine for a while, which leverages "the powerful open source KallistiOS and GLdc libraries."

While the game doesn't currently support twin sticks, the left stick is used to move, and holding the right trigger will lock on to an enemy, in a similar vein to Cannon Spike. Basically, Dashy no Blast is like if Cotton met Cannon Spike, and I'm totally here for it.

Getting Jersey Devil vibes from these pumpkin heads... Anyone remember Jersey Devil? No one?

While Dashy no Blast is just a pre-alpha with one level for now, Voxel has asked on Twitter for people to let him know what they think, as he's "seeking as much input as possible before deciding on the future direction of this game." I know for certain I'd definitely love to see more. A game like this could definitely be a perfect candidate for an indie release once it's complete. If you give Dashy no Blast a go and like what you play, please let Voxel know!

To play Dashy no Blast, just download the .cdi from the itch.io page. It is playable on real hardware (VGA only) and emulators. Happy Halloween!

Rainbow Cotton now has an English Translation!

The ever-busy Derek Pascarella, alongside the same talented team who also worked on Sakura Wars Columns 2, is back with a brand new English fan translation, the cute as heck Rainbow Cotton!

Developed by Success, and released exclusively to Japan in the year 2000, Rainbow Cotton is a 3D rail shooter in a similar vein to Panzer Dragoon and Space Harrier. But instead of playing as dragon riders or space soldier dudes, you take on the role of the titular witch character Cotton, flying and shooting your way through very aesthetically pleasing 3D fantasy stages. While the visuals are an absolute joy to behold, and have been praised highly by many, Rainbow Cotton unfortunately suffers in the gameplay department and has been heavily criticised over the years for frustrating controls and gameplay quirks. 

But if there was ever a time to forgive this game for its flaws, it's now, because it's now fully translated into English! That's everything: in-game text, graphics, and even the anime cutscenes that tell the tale of Rainbow Cotton. Now you can understand what's going on properly. 

If you fancy a peek behind the curtain of how Derek and his team hack and translate these games, then tune into DreamPod episode 93, which features Derek and his collaborator Burntends as guests. Podcast plugs aside, below are all the relevant links you'll need to learn more, and ultimately play this translation. As always, read the Release Notes before playing, and be sure to thank Derek and his crew for another job well done!

Release Notes

GitHub Project Page

Download Patch

To be used with the Universal Dreamcast Patcher.

Patched GDI

Patched CDI (Untested)

Review: Battle Crust

There was undoubtedly a period, not too long ago, when the mention of yet another shoot 'em up for the Dreamcast would have brought a deafening sigh from the community. It seemed that for a time, every single post-mortem indie release was another vertical or horizontal shooter (I hasten to add that I'm not a fan of the term 'shmup,' just as I cringe at the term 'Metroidvania'), and even though the majority of them are pleasant, highly competent examples of the genre, overkill set in. This probably came to head in 2015 with the release of Ghost Blade - a game I personally quite enjoyed, but one which also drew derision and ultimately signalled a hiatus for shooters on the system.

Indeed, the reliance on the shoot 'em up has largely vanished from the indie Dreamcast scene, what with JoshProd stepping up to the plate and releasing a bunch of new titles for the Dreamcast with nary a spaceship in sight. That's about to change though, as the latest wave of releases from the French publisher includes a port of Picorinne Soft's well received retro-styled vertical shooter Battle Crust. The game initially launched on Steam back in 2016 and I must admit that prior to learning of the Dreamcast port, I was totally unaware of its existence.

Of all the games to bring to the Dreamcast, it's a curious choice then. Especially when you look at the other titles that are making up this third wave of new releases from JoshProd: Another World, Fade to Black, Bang Bang Busters and The Escapee. However, variety is the spice of life, and if anything JoshProd is proving that Dreamcast gamers are thirsty for a range of experiences from a range of genres; and now that the tsunami of shooters seems to have slowed to a mere trickle, it's actually refreshing to see a new title of this ilk on the Dreamcast.

Hyperbole aside though, games like Battle Crust live and die on the quality of the experience they provide, so enough with the procrastination - let's see if Battle Crust deserves a place in the Dreamcast's ever-growing indie library, and more importantly, in your collection...

A Quick Look At Gunbird 2

Whenever there's a discussion about the best shmups on the Dreamcast, the usual names get bandied about. Ikaruga, Mars Matrix, Sturmwind, Under Defeat, Castle Shikigami 2, Dux. Well, maybe not that last one...but you get the idea. As epic and deserved of praise as all of those games are, there's one that rarely gets a look in when said hypothetical discussion is taking place - Gunbird 2. And since the original Gunbird has recently been released on the Nintendo Switch, I thought it would be fun to jump into the sequel Gunbird 2, and see if it really does deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence as its illustrious peers in the genre.

The Dreamcast is well known for certain genres: 2D fighters, arcade racers, crap football (soccer) games...and shmups. Apart from the Saturn and the NEO-GEO, I'm pretty confident that there is no other home hardware format that boasts such an exquisite library of shoot 'em ups, and in amongst the crowd of quality examples rests Gunbird 2. Released in arcades by Capcom in 1998 and then ported to the Dreamcast in 2000, Gunbird 2 builds upon the prequel's gameplay and features, adding several new characters, updated visuals and some pretty fantastic writing and unusual extra features.

A top-down, vertically scrolling shooter, Gunbird 2 will feel very familiar from the off to anyone who has ever played a shmup in this vein. I personally have never played the original Gunbird either in the arcade or on the Sega Saturn, so the fact that it is coming to the Nintendo Switch interests me greatly; and if it plays anything like as well as the Dreamcast sequel a fun time is almost guaranteed...