Someone is turning the Dreamcast version of Re-Volt into Mario Kart

There's not really much more to add. There's a guy, and he's modding the Dreamcast version of Acclaim's radio controlled racer Re-Volt to look and play like Nintendo's flagship kart 'em up. It's early days at present, and only runs on NullDC thus far but this could be worth keeping an eye on. Thanks must go to our pal Pcwzrd for alerting me to this brilliantly bizarre fan project.

I wonder if this is even worth Nintendo slapping a cease and desist on, as the only people it will likely appeal to is sad sacks like me and you reading this now. Yes you. That said, you only have to look at Pokemon Uranium and the Metroid project from a few months ago to see how Nintendo reacts to even the most harmless of fan projects.

One thing is certain though: Acclaim won't be making any noise.

New Dreamcast Game Revealed: In The Line Of Fire

A few months ago we showed off some images of a brand new first person shooter that didn't actually have a name. If you don't know what I'm talking about, cast your mind back to those pictures of the clowns holding invisible guns. If you still don't know what I'm blathering on about, simply cast your peepers downward a few pixels and refresh your memory:

Remember now? Excellent. The guys behind the 'unnamed shooter' have been hard at work behind the scenes, it seems and have finally put together a fully playable build of the game. Oh, and it has a name now too: In The Line Of Fire. I'm not usually one to blow my own trumpet (much), but I thought I should mention that I had a small hand in choosing that name...but this isn't about me. It's about a brand new story-driven first person shooter coming exclusively to the Dreamcast...and we've played the alpha build!

Time for some Grandia II...nes

To say I've been putting off playing Grandia II would be an understatement - the game's sat on my shelf for upward of a year now, with only a few plays on it so far. The idea of playing a JRPG on the Dreamcast is still an odd one to me, having grown up playing most of my RPGs on Nintendo consoles (or that time I binged a bunch of Skyrim on my bro's PS3).

But I'm not here to commiserate about video game backlogs. Rather, let us look to a particularly nifty feature of the Dreamcast release of Grandia II: the bonus "Music Selections" CD included. With a total of 12 pieces coming in at 50 minutes of music, it's a nice sampling of the game's soundtrack, with what appear to be a few remixes thrown in for good measure. Thankfully, no jingles or short sounds are included, so the CD works as a standalone listen.

My own personal copy

Oddly enough, the album begins with a remix. Both "Cançäo do povo (Little Shelter MIX)" and the last song, "Cançäo do povo," feature the vocal talents of Kaori Kawasumi. The song and its remix provide nice bookends for the whole affair, as the remix opens up with a catchy dance-like beat, and the original ends it on a more mellow, longing note.

A Closer Look At The Dreamcast MP3 Player

By now, it's common knowledge (well, in the Dreamcast community - probably not down the local pub) that Sega was planning some kind of Dreamcast MP3 player. The device would likely have connected to the system via the VMU slot and shared a form factor with the aforementioned memory device. Indeed, if you do a quick search on the worlds most popular search engine Lycos, you'll no doubt come across this image:

Cheers, IGN.

This whole subject seems to have become quite popular again in recent times, as evidenced by the sheer number of memes and videos showing people fitting iPod Nanos into VMU shells. To be honest, that whole thing isn't really new - we did a little article on potentially fitting a no-brand MP3 player into a VMU shell back in 2006, back when nobody gave a flying turd about the Dreamcast and this was a personal blog where I told fanciful tales about buying tins of beans and cans of Carlsberg with money I found in the street (that hasn't changed in the intervening decade, by the way).

DreamPod - Episode 39

[iTunes][Stitcher][Buzzsprout][UK Podcast Directory][YouTube]

King of Fighters 2000 now on EU PlayStation Store

Forgive me if this is old news, but I only discovered it today...and that was purely because I was furiously combing the PlayStation Store to see if anything new had been added in the three weeks that I've been offline. Well, not totally offline...I've still been able to use my iPhone to annoy people, lose followers and start arguments on Twitter/Facebook; but I've had no broadband as I recently moved and had to wait for EE to switch the fibre service on. But you don't care about my trials and telecommunication-based tribulations! You're here for Dreamcast-related news, right? Well, prepare to be disappointed because this isn't really Dreamcast related at all, but there's a tenuous link. See, King of Fighters 2000 has appeared on the EU PlayStation store hot on the heels of that other SNK favourite The Last Blade 2.

A quick Google search tells me this game (which I believe is the PlayStation 2 version...see, I told you the link was tenuous) was released in May 2016 on the US store, but only recently (well, in late August) sneaked out in EU territories. Just thought people may have missed its appearance, as I certainly did and there's little mention of it on the European PlayStation blog. If you're interested and either don't own or didn't get the chance to play the game on the Dreamcast, King of Fighters 2000 can be found in the PlayStation 2 section when accessed with a PS4. I haven't purchased it myself as I own the game for the Dreamcast, but it appears to have been given similar treatment to the aforementioned sword-based fighter...which translates as garish-looking frames surrounding the action to afford a 4:3 screen ratio and stop everything looking like pixel vomit. Probably.

There's still no sign of Garou: Mark of the Wolves, but Max Payne is now available so there's another really, really weak Dreamcast link. If games that didn't actually come out on the Dreamcast can ever truly be considered as such. I'll just get my coat and see myself out.

Review: Zia and the Goddesses of Magic

The term 'role playing game' has always puzzled me. I get the connotations and I understand that titles with which it is associated must meet certain criteria to be classed as such...but don't you play a role in any game you play? Bear with me on this one, OK. I know I’m talking (writing) utter rubbish, but what do you expect here? Look, in Crazy Taxi you play the role of Gus, picking up passengers while wearing an open shirt and exposing the odd man boob. You are Gus. Similarly in Virtua Tennis, you assume the role of a square-headed Tim Henman and do things the man never did in real life, such as winning trophies; and therefore Virtua Tennis should technically be designated as a phantasy role playing game, too. Man, this gin is strong.

The thing is, these examples are not classed as role playing games, or ‘RPGs.’ No, RPGs fall into their own little genre identified by magic potions, stat points, levelling up and pointy ears/gigantic beards/scantily clad nymphs (delete as applicable). I'm going to be honest here and state that my experience with RPGs isn't as extensive as some other members of the Junkyard team, and I'm happy to admit that I've never finished Skies of Arcadia or Time Stalkers. The latter because it’s about as interesting as watching a group of pensioners play boules down the park on a Sunday morning.

That said, I have played other non-Dreamcast RPGs so I do have a decent level of appreciation for the genre (Ocarina of Time, Link's Awakening, Rainbow Moon, Fallout 3, The Witcher etc), and naturally there's also Shenmue but I'm apprehensive to class that as an RPG unless a hate mob of Shnemue truthers be mobilised against me. I'm already expecting a whole load of comments completely ignoring the main purpose of this review and just focusing in on the fact that I described any of the aforementioned games as RPGs, but fuck it. Haters gonna hate and I won't be posting this on Reddit anyway, so there's a 65% risk reduction of that straight out of the gate. What has all this guff got to do with the Dreamcast you may be wondering? Well, the latest indie release for Sega's little white box has landed...and it's an RPG!

Orion's Zia and the Goddesses of Magic was released at the beginning of September 2016 and is the latest new title to grace the Dreamcast, so let's take a look at what this curious little game is all about.

DCJY/RadioSEGA

See what I did with the title of this post? It's like Frost/Nixon but less politically charged. Should probably be the other way round and written as RadioSEGA/DCJY...but meh. Anyway, let's get on with it. If you're a Sega fan, you'll no doubt be familiar with RadioSEGA...and if you're not, then allow me to enlighten you. RadioSEGA is an online radio station that broadcasts a whole range of shows and Sega-related music 24 hours a day. It has its own hosts, talk shows and discussion programmes as well as a thriving online community and forum. Recently, I was lucky enough to be invited onto one of RadioSEGA's most popular talk shows - The Sega Lounge - to talk about the Dreamcast, my history with the system and also The Dreamcast Junkyard itself. The show was a lot of fun and main host KC was a consummate broadcast professional (you can pay me later for that description, KC). There was also a Dreamcast music quiz that I wasn't too hot at - I could have done with a 'phone a friend' call on some of the tracks to be honest!

Other topics we touched on included the whole saga with the DCJY Guide and our recent In Search Of The Barber series (special thanks to both Kotaku and Nintendo Life for covering that, too!). Overall it was a great experience and I'm honoured that I was asked to appear on The Sega Lounge. The show was actually broadcast a couple of weeks ago (The Sega Lounge usually goes out on a Thursday night and has a different guest each episode) but now it is available as a podcast, so while you're waiting for us to get around to recording a new episode of DreamPod (don't worry - we're not cancelling it or anything...just real life events prevent us from recording now and then!) why not give this one a listen? Link below, folks!

Event: Play Expo Manchester 2016

Play Expo Manchester is one of the largest events in the UK gaming calendar, and once again The Dreamcast Junkyard will be in attendance. Last year's event was absolutely brilliant, and the Junkyard team got to speak to hundreds of gamers, cosplayers and subscribers to the church of geek over the course of the two-day bash. You can read the show report and see some photos here, but you're probably more interested to know what we'll have in store this year should you be lucky enough to be attending the show.

Nerds, as far as the eye can see...and it's glorious!

Play Expo, first and foremost is about the games. The various events held around the UK by organiser Replay Events are a celebration of games both new and old and this is reflected by the sheer number of freeplay arcade cabinets, pinball tables, boardgames, and consoles and computers from all eras and generations. On top of this, there are talks from industry figures, cosplay parades and competitions, and movie memorabilia displays. Oh, and there are usually hundreds of traders selling all kinds of gaming paraphernalia. It really is a fantastic carnival celebrating everything great about gaming, and this year The Dreamcast Junkyard will be located in the Community Zone, along with a range of Dreamcast consoles, peripherals and games for the general public to experience. You can find out more about the Community Zone by visiting the official Play Expo website, but we'll be there rubbing shoulders with the likes of RetroCollect, GamesYouLoved and Bordersdown.

The Games That Never Were: Episode 8

We've dutifully shared Pcwzrd's fantastic The Games That Never Were series here at the 'Yard ever since it first hit YouTube, and the reason for this is twofold. First, the videos are a fantastic insight into the Dreamcast titles we were promised back in the day, but for whatever reason we never got the opportunity to sample. Second, Pcwzrd works his ass off on this series and we feel they deserve more views. And while we're on the subject of videos that deserve your eyes to be cast over them, go and watch Dreamcast Hub's latest video review of Puzzle Fighter 2X here.

Back to the matter at hand though. The Games That Never Were is a series focused solely on the multitude of games that were promised for Sega's final console but were never released for public consumption. As Pcwzrd explains in the intro, there were a staggering number of projects in the works when the plug was pulled on the Dreamcast and many of these were either switched to other platforms or simply cancelled and lost to the fiery mists of development hell, never to be seen again.

Hellgate. Image credit: Unseen64

I make no secret of my obsession with cancelled games, and I'm forever scouring awesome sites like Unseen64; and my favourite part of reading old magazines is undoubtedly searching for the slightest mention of an unreleased Dreamcast game, no matter how vague the reference. With this in mind, you can probably see where my love for this series stems from!

Sega's Telecom Dream

Recently we discovered the Dreamphone, and with the help of the wider Dreamcast community were able to piece together the mystery behind this long forgotten peripheral. The Dreamphone turned out to be a repurposed Fujitsu My Phone YT8100, a simple device that let Japanese Dreamcast users connect to the internet and still allow phone calls to be made. The Dreamphone was given away as a low end Dream Point Bank prize (4000 points) and quietly fell into obscurity. It seems that Sega did have other plans for the Dreamcast when it came to telecommunications though, and here's proof:

This screen is taken from a video recently uploaded to YouTube by user DeChief. DeChief contacted me through the Assembler forums to ask if I would be interested in seeing a video that had been digitised from an old Japanese promo VHS tape. Naturally, even with overtones of the film Ring, I was keen and upon viewing it I realised the video was one I'd never seen before. 

The second half of the upload busies itself with game previews (and includes footage of Geist Force); but it's the first half that offers up the good stuff. At the 3:45 mark, the video shows off some intended uses for the VMU which include being able to attach the device to an arcade cabinet, the VMU attached to a mobile phone, and a VMU stuck in a hi-fi mini system!

Dreamcast VR Roundup

Today, lets take a look at the recent developments in Dreamcast VR gaming. If you’re only interested in DC-related content, feel free to skip past my incoherent ramblings to the meat of the post further down the page. I won’t take it personally. You...you...giant talking egg!

The Game On exhibition was held in Tokyo earlier this year.

In May, I was lucky enough to be given the chance to sample the yet to be released PS VR at the Game On Expo in Tokyo; where I was treated to playable demos of the promising 'Getaway: London Heist' and incoming virtual reality adaptation of DC classic Rez. From the instant the headset was placed on my head by the rather beautiful Japanese Sony representative, I was transported to a different dimension, quickly losing any awareness of my real life surroundings and becoming completely absorbed in my new virtual world. 

Anyone who has conversed with me on the topic of modern gaming knows that I held a rather pessimistic view on the direction the games industry has been progressing in recent years, and despite owning all three of the current gen systems, I’ve yet to really be impressed by any of them...until now. I’m not ashamed to say it, but VR caught me completely off guard and has blown me away. This is the leap in gaming I've been impatiently waiting for since Shenmue was booted up for the first time in my childhood bedroom…and well, as of late, I’ve gone a bit VR mad.

Xenocider Pre-Orders Open, New Demo Available

The tale of Retro Sumus' ambitious Sin & Punishment-style shooter Xenocider has been well documented here at the Junkyard, but things are looking up for the Spanish outfit. How so? Well, pre-orders for the game are now open, and it also appears to have become a Dreamcast exclusive! From the Retro Sumus website:

"We like to believe we listen to our audience. After the hangover of our failed Kickstarter campaign, fans of both the Ameba and Xenocider projects suggested good old pre-orders. We weren’t sure if that was a feasible option, as we have never wanted to become just another dev team who make promises they can’t deliver. As we have claimed many times, our goal is total transparency, and the last thing we wish is to lose the little trust we earned from those fans.

So we listened. We considered. We re-considered. We re-evaluated our options, our means, our objectives, our possibilities. We solved our differences via Virtua Fighter matches, because that’s what well educated guys do.

And here we are. After all that careful consideration, we agreed to focus our efforts on developing Xenocider for Dreamcast exclusively. This may well reduce our potential profit to almost none, but who cares. Xenocider is still alive, with three stages virtually finished, and our plan is to complete development in less than a year from now. And you can pre-order the regular, limited, PAL or steelbook editions of the game from our new shop today!"

- Retro Sumus

Guest Article: Sega Should Resurrect The Dreamcast Brand

You many be familiar with the name Luke Benstead. He's the guy responsible for creating the DreamPi - the Raspberry Pi based device that is enabling Dreamcast owners to get back online around the world. We've covered Luke's work extensively here at the Junkyard, he appeared as a guest on an episode of DreamPod and he wrote a previous guest article for us. In this new guest article though, Luke takes a look at what it would take to resurrect the Dreamcast brand...

Recently, it was the 17th anniversary of the Sega Dreamcast in the US and the occasion caused Twitter and Faceback to fill with birthday greetings for the console that refuses to die. If you're reading this you are probably well aware of the stubborn and ever-growing 'Dreamcast Scene,' but if this is news to you then I'll give you a quick overview. 

Dreamcast trended on Twitter briefly on 9/9/2016

After Sega stopped supporting their last home console, homebrew developers made tools to create games for it, and every year more and more games created by indie developers are released. On top of that, the Dreamcast continues to gain more and more online multiplayer games as aspiring geniuses reverse engineer the old game servers. Just in the past year alone, Chu Chu Rocket, Toy Racer (dial up), PAL Quake III Arena and The Next Tetris, have returned from the dead. On the horizon is Alien Front Online, and there are sure to be more to come. There are weekly game nights scheduled for both the US and UK, and well over 100 people now regularly play online. Which is quite some achievement considering you have to actually do some soldering to get the dial-up Dreamcast to connect in a fibre-optic world. 

In summary, the Dreamcast isn't dead, it's alive and well. Sure it doesn't compete with current gen consoles but no other console in history has had as much community support. Which brings me onto the main topic of the article; Sega should bring the Dreamcast back. 

Competition: Win Propeller Arena For Dreamcast!

We took a closer look at Sega's fabulous airborne battle game recently, and also the reasons behind its cancellation. If you'd like to know more, feel free to go here and have a look at the article in question. The long and short of it though, is that Propeller Arena is a brilliant game and one that you should definitely seek out if you want a demonstration of just how good late era Dreamcast games can look, sound and play. In fact, here's a screen I took on my very own Dreamcast mere weeks ago:

Looks good, eh? Anyway, on the back of our recent retrospective we teamed up with talented DCJY Facebook group member Martin Kay to offer three of you lucky folk the chance to win a very unique prize: a copy of Propeller Arena, complete with PAL case, manual, printed covers and a Shenmue-style cardboard protective sleeve!

These things were hand made by Martin and look like official games, and as they're repros they will run in any Dreamcast that can play copied games - without the use of a boot disc. Props must go the Martin (see what we did there?) for his efforts as these copies of the game really do look amazing and would look awesome on any Dreamcast collector's shelf.

Dreamcast Magazine Issue 17

Issue 17 of Paragon Publishing's unofficial Dreamcast Magazine was available to purchase in UK corner shops from 28th December 2000. Costing just £2.99 and nestled in amongst the Buckfast and Wham Bars, issue 17 featured Ubisoft and Darkworks' Lovecraft-inspired horror adventure Alone In The Dark: The New Nightmare on the cover; alongside Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis and Tomb Raider Chronicles. The biggest draw for buyers of Dreamcast Magazine issue 17 though, was the infamous cover-mounted free gift.

The Blaze Xploder DC Cheats CD was intended to be a sample of the full product, which allowed users to activate cheats in Dreamcast games. Promising exotic treats such as infinite lives, the removal of in-game timers, and naked characters (probably); the demo version bundled with issue 17 allowed gamers to implement certain 'pokes' in a limited selection of 'titles.' However, it quickly became apparent that while the disc did indeed work as intended, it also bestowed upon users the ability to completely bypass the regional lockout of the Dreamcast and thus opened the door for UK gamers to play NTSC-U and NTSC-J games on their PAL systems.

Imagine for a moment that you answered an innocent knock on your front door, only to be confronted by Professor X who proceded to explain that you were the heir to Stark Industries and were now the new Iron Man. Yes, I know I'm mixing franchises, but this is the kind of power we're talking about. Sort of. It isn't. Anyway, this wasn't the only time such a blunder glorious fuck up was made by a magazine in the UK (as this recent Eurogamer article from former DC-UK editor Keith Stuart will testify); but it was certainly the first time it happened with a disc given away by Dreamcast Magazine, and it probably didn't help Paragon's relationship with Sega Europe either.

Event: Dreamcast 17th Anniversary Event, Burbank CA

Every time I put up a post here at the Junkyard detailing a new event we're attending, there always seem to be tonnes of people disappointed that they're generally held in the UK. That's because most of us here are based in old Blighty and since Brexit we're not even allowed to leave anymore. Naturally I jest, but this isn't a joke: there's a Dreamcast 17th anniversary event happening in Burbank, California on 9/9/16! This event is being run by friend of the Junkyard CD ageS (you know, the guy who owns the super rare SFL-2000P1 Control Unit we featured a while back), and sounds like a perfect way to celebrate the US birthday of our favourite console.

Click for a larger version!

This event is, as the name and date on which it is being held suggest, a celebration of the NTSC-U Dreamcast reaching the ripe old age of 17; and the venue - Game Realms - is one of the largest game stores in the area. Game Realms is no stranger to putting on awesome events and this one will be no different, featuring a selection of free play consoles and Dreamcast classics from 1pm on the day. Further to this, after 7pm the ambience will take on a slightly more competitive edge as the tournament begin and games are streamed on Twitch.

Entry before 7pm is free, after this time tickets cost $7. For further information, be sure to check out Game Realms' Facebook page and website. For those in the UK, The Dreamcast Junkyard will once again have a presence at Play Expo Manchester in early October and we hope to see some of you lovely people there. If you're in Burbank, CA though...you have no reason not to get yourself down to Game Realms on 9/9/16!