Mean Green Machine

This past weekend I managed to catch up with an old friend and former writer here at the 'Yard - the artist formerly known as Father Krishna. FK, as we would occasionally refer to him, was part of the team from around 2007 - 2010 but due to personal reasons decided to take a hiatus from writing about Sega's lovely box of tricks. FK will be making a long overdue return to the Junkyard in the near future, but that's not the reason for this post. When I arranged to meet him, FK said he had a gift for me and I wasn't really sure what to expect. Imagine my shock and delight when he presented me with this bad boy:

Yep, it's a PAL Dreamcast in an aftermarket translucent green shell, complete with matching green VMU and two-tone green and clear controller. Naturally, I was a little taken aback by this act of generosity - all the more so since I've been looking for a translucent Dreamcast shell for quite a considerable amount of time but have always been put off by the relatively high price of them (and astronomical shipping costs from overseas in most cases).

Play Expo Manchester 2015

Anyone who follows the Junkyard on Facebook will no doubt know that we didn't win a UK Podcasters Award on Saturday - the best video games podcast award went to Retro Asylum, and we would like to extend our congratulations to the team - they're a great bunch of guys. To be honest, we didn't think we had much of a chance winning against such popular competition and the Retro Asylum podcast has such a large following and has been going for so long, that for DreamPod to win an award after only 14 episodes wouldn't have been entirely fair. So well done to Retro Asylum, and to PlayStation Radio UK for also being nominated.

Now though, our thoughts turn to the future. And to be more specific, the 10th and 11th of October 2015. That's because The Dreamcast Junkyard is thrilled to announce that we will be in attendance at one of the UK's largest gaming expos - Play Expo Manchester. Play Expo attracts tens of thousands of gamers to the Event City exhibition centre in Trafford Park, Manchester and is a weekend-long celebration of current and retro gaming and allows visitors the chance to mix with like-minded fans of the hobby and play a whole host of games. Furthermore, the massive trading hall is always full to bursting with stalls selling all manner of rare and unusual gaming items, both old and new. Celebrity guests from the world of film and TV, talks from games industry icons, cosplay competitions, arcade and pinball machines and competitive gaming championships round off the event. Hopefully industry legend Jeff Minter will again be in attendance wearing one of his 'interesting' woolly jumpers, too.

The Dreamcast...Shoe?

So you're wearing your Dreamcast jacket and t-shirt; you've got your Dreamcast baseball cap firmly on your head; and your Dreamcast satchel is neatly slung over your shoulder securely holding your Dreamcast notebook PC and assorted Sega-branded pens and writing pads. There might even be a Dream Eye in there in case you spot something worthy of recording via the power of VGA video. But there's something missing. Something is eating at the very fabric of your SH4-powered soul. Like the atmosphere in any HP Lovecraft novel, something is off...but you don't know what. Lowering your head in shame and looking down at the pavement/sidewalk/mud (yes, you are actually outdoors dressed like this), the penny drops like an anvil falling from the top of a skyscraper: your shoes are not Dreamcast-branded! You begin to cry and run home screeching like a banshee. The embarrassment. The shame.

I'm sure you're all familiar with this scenario, and this is no fantasy (star online) - it is actually based on true events. In fact, the author is the person described above. Last Tuesday, as it happens. But I digress - there is a happy ending to this tale of woe, as when I got home I happened to spot a Facebook post by our good friends over at DreamcastGaga, which allowed me to link to a Japanese website selling perhaps the most hideous amazing footwear this side of Christiano Ronaldo's neon boots:

16 Years, Still Thinking...

The 16th birthday of the NTSC-U Dreamcast is upon us. 16 years of awesome. Yes, it's an inanimate plastic object...but let's all wish the Dreamcast a Happy Birthday regardless!

If you'd like to read a bit more about the NTSC-U Dreamcast, check out our recent look at the different styles of US packaging here.

10th Anniversary Competition: Part Three Results

Well, the third and final part of our 10th anniversary competition has come to a close. Parts one and two were outstanding successes and allowed us to share in our community's fondest memories of the Dreamcast; and also allowed you to get creative. Before we reveal the fastest Sega Rally 2 players and the winning lap time for our Sega Rally 2 Time Attack Challenge, we at the Junkyard would like to thank you all for taking part and spreading the word about this momentous competition. We would also like to extend our thanks to Sega Europe for supplying the amazing limited edition Dreamcast Collection vinyl records for you guys to win.

Before I'm overcome with emotion and start crying into my keyboard, let's get on with it. For part three of this competition, we asked you to attempt to set a fastest lap time on Sega Rally 2's Desert SS1 using the Toyota Celica GT-Four ST205. Any combination of tires, suspension and gearing was permitted - this was really a test of how well you knew how to manipulate the game's settings and the best lines through the course. I tried to set a time as a benchmark but managed a paltry 56 seconds. Hey, I never said I was good at Dreamcast games! We had lots of entries and we thank you for that, but ultimately there can be only one winner. Without further ado, here's a run down of the five fastest lap times we received...

Saber Rider Kickstarter Adds Dreamcast Version

Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs is, by all accounts, a fairly well-loved cartoon series from the 1980s.  Created by World Events Productions and based on a Japanese cartoon series called Star Musketeer Bismarck, Saber Rider achieved moderate success in North America and ran for 52 episodes. Even though I'm an admirer of animated shows from the era (who can forget Dungeons & Dragons?), I have to be honest - I'd never heard of it before learning of the Kickstarter to turn the series into a side-scrolling shooter for the Nintendo 3DS.

Furthermore, I will admit right here that I had to do a bit of Wikipedia mining and Googling in order to get up to speed on the exploits of the titular Saber Rider, but what I found has impressed me. Anyone who remembers cartoon series from the 80s like the aforementioned Dungeons & Dragons and, more appropriately, stuff like BraveStarr (the series featuring a Native American sheriff and his talking horse) will be right at home with Saber Rider; and after watching some clips on YouTube I must admit to warming to the 'space western' aesthetics.

DreamPod Episode 14 With Adam Koralik & Corey Marshall

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Be sure to check out Adam's YouTube channel and website, and keep up to speed with the latest Shenmue 3 developments. You can also check out the Yu Suzuki interview mentioned by clicking here. Finally, if you like what you hear please consider giving us an iTunes review. Thanks!

The Dreamcast First Aid Kit

I must admit that I only came across this image while lazily searching Google. It originally comes from the legendary but long abandoned UK:Resistance, and there's no other real information about the item's origins anywhere else on the internet. But here it is - a Dreamcast-branded first aid kit:

Is this an official Sega product? If so, why on Earth did Sega think it was a good idea to brand a bunch of plasters and cotton buds with a console logo? That said, I can totally see the point of marketing materials like pens, pencils, frisbees and hats - there's always loads of throwaway console-branded stuff at gaming events...but the thought of an Xbox One or PS4 first aid kit at E3 or Gamescom? Can't see it myself.

Maybe Sega was anticipating hoards of people literally falling over themselves/each other onto the pavement (also known as a sidewalk in America, apparently) to buy a Dreamcast and thought it best to cover their arses (so to speak) by issuing these kits incase a lawsuit came along? Who knows, but if you have one of these or know anything else about it, please leave a comment!

DreamPod Episode 13

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Caleb Tries to Play Baldr Force EXE

Is this game about fighting robots?  Or is it about pressing the "A" button to skip dialog?  Find out below.

New Dreamcast Kickstarter To Launch - Alice Dreams Tournament

Hey does anyone remember that awesome demo for Alice Dreams?  I certainly was disappointed that it never launched.

But now those same guys are making a NEW game.  And it will BLOW YOU AWAY!

Did you see that Dreamcast VMU Support!? Amazing!

Full details can be found here!

Good Dreamcastic Morning!

Are you looking for a regular Dreamcast YouTube show full of news, interviews and guest appearances? Well you're in luck, because Good Dreamcastic Morning has debuted. Check out the pilot episode from pcwzrd13 below and look out for a special guest appearance from yours truly!

 

Hopefully I didn't make too much of an idiot of myself in that little section - the rest of the show is full of interesting information (I didn't know you could eat the food in Dynamite Cop, for instance!), and we look forward to seeing where this series goes. The Dreamcast community is apparently expanding in 2015 (see our previous post) and all these new Dreamcast owners will undoubtedly be subscribing in their millions. Or billions. 6 billion in fact.

MCV Reports Spike In Dreamcast Sales

Games industry website MCV has reported that UK sales of used Dreamcast hardware have increased drastically since Shenmue III was revealed at E3 2015. The article, published on 27th August claims that independent retailers have recorded a dramatic upturn in demand for the hardware due to people who never experienced the first two games in the Shenmue series taking an interest.

"We sold 20 Dreamcasts in the last week alone. All of sudden, people are asking where they can play the original two Shenmue games. The announcement of Shenmue III really piqued everyone’s interest." - Alex Bowness, Level Up Games

Naturally, due to this sudden demand prices have started to slowly increase. On the one hand, this is foreboding as it may herald the start of the Dreamcast becoming one of those systems where every game and knackered yellow console on eBay also comes with a vastly inflated valuation. But on the other hand, it means maybe more people will enter the world of the Dreamcast and come to appreciate how many great games the format boasts. Quite ironic considering how neglected the system was during those brief glory days of the late 1990s and early 2000s.

The search for a cheap, used Dreamcast continued...

“Dreamcast sales have come from nowhere almost, what’s exciting now is that young gamers who perhaps didn’t even know what the Dreamcast was are interested in it.” - David James-Turvey, Retrobution

Check out Alex Calvin's full article at MCV here.

New Dreamcast Racer On The Horizon?

A very talented guy by the name of David Webster has been working on Dreamcast homebrew projects for the past few years and uploading his tech demos to his YouTube channel. Among his works on the Dreamcast are some rather cool real-time lighting and environment rendering demonstrations (complete with adaptive tessellation - whatever that is!); but by far the most impressive of David's creations is the 'Dreamcast Engine,' a 3D first person demo that shows the beginnings of some truly impressive lighting effects and architecture. Check out the video:

Sadly, it seems that work on Dreamcast Engine has been placed on hiatus as of now, but all is not lost - David has turned his attention to another project. This project is still in the very early stages of development, but judging from the two YouTube clips below the Dreamcast could soon be playing host to it's very own sprite-based, procedurally generated take on either Rad Mobile or F-Zero. Exciting stuff indeed.

The Ultimate Ikaruga Run

Think you're good at Treasure classic Ikaruga? Well it's time to think again!

Check out this video from the recent Summer Games Done Quick 2015 event, where a simply insane Ikaruga run was demonstrated by TASBot, a machine that specialises in completing tool-assisted speedruns.

Running for maximum score, TASBot proceeds to run two-player Ikaruga while hitting Max Chain bonus all... the... smegging... time! Yes, its a machine executing code ripped from emulators but, just, god-damn!

If you are at all into shmups then this will blow you away. Some of the movement patterns on display are simply insane and, when both the Ikaruga and Ginkei team up for some high-level bullet eater tactics, things just get beautiful.

You will never be good enough to play like this, however if you want to get better at Ikaruga, then watch this spectacular run. Excellent commentary is supplied too for the uninitiated. The run proper begins at 3:00.

We're aware the version being played is the Gamecube port, but Ikaruga will always be associated with the Dreamcast too!

Did You Know Gaming? Tackles Sonic Adventure

YouTube channel Did You Know Gaming? offers a wealth of information on topics from across the gaming board, and I for one regularly check their uploads for interesting and often little-known facts about various software and hardware releases. We recently shared the Dreamcast video they published, but Did You Know Gaming? have since delved back into the world of Sega's magic white box by investigating one of the system's most infamous titles - Sonic Adventure.

Many of you reading this will no doubt be all too familiar with Sonic Adventure (it was one of the first games many early adopters experienced - including me), but as this video shows there are still things to learn. Prior to watching it, I had never heard of the Sonic Adventure AutoDemo mentioned in reference to the Casino 'cow girl' billboard, and a quick Google search later opened up a whole new world of wonder to me.

The AutoDemo was an early rolling demo of Sonic Adventure (dating from October 1998) that was used to show off the game's engine - it basically shows a load of cut scenes using in-game assets. Turns out a group of Sonic Retro forum members (headed by a user named 'Orengefox') managed to hack the game though, and released a whole load of previously unseen development assets and pre-alpha levels. It's a fascinating story and you can read all about it here and here. While I was aware of the recent Windy Valley discovery, I was previously ignorant to how deep this particular rabbit (echidna?) hole went...

Ghost Blade Release Trailer Hits

Hucast Games' long-awaited vertical shmup Ghost Blade launches on 27th September, and we can't wait to find out how it measures up to previous shooters in the studio's back catalogue. The game was playable at the recent Gamescom event in Germany and we heard some good things. 

According to the Hucast website, features include:

• Beautiful, detailed High-res Graphics
• 5 Stage with HUGE Boss Enemies
• 3 Player ships with different gun types
• Instant Respawn
• Auto-bomb enabled novice mode for beginners
• Arcade Gameplay and Addictive Scoring System
• Incredible Soundtrack composed by Rafael Dyll
• 2-player mode for addictive fun

It will also be compatible with the VGA box and arcade stick.

The wait is almost over, but in the meantime Hucast has released a trailer showing off some of the features you can expect once Ghost Blade hits a Dreamcast near you. Enjoy:

Be sure to visit the official Ghost Blade site for more info!

A Quick Look At Virtua Cop 2

There are lots of Saturn franchises that could and probably should have been re-made for the Dreamcast. Imagine if stuff like NiGHTS, Sega Touring Car or Fighters Megamix had been given a bit of a revamp in the graphics department and then re-released as budget games for the Dreamcast - it would have been great and allowed for more gamers to experience these titles. Obviously, in the case of Touring Car it would have taken a bit more than increasing the resolution to sort out the eye-watering jerkiness of the engine, but you get the idea. Remakes of last-gen titles are all the rage today, and there's no real reason that the Dreamcast couldn't have played host to a plethora of upgraded Saturn ports. This did happen at least once though, as Virtua Cop 2 can attest.

Jet Grind Radio Vs The City Of Milwaukee

Milwaukee is a city that not only boasts a brilliant name (although still not on a par with the small hamlet of Shitterton in Dorset, England), but it is also the largest settlement in the US state of Wisconsin. I have personally never been to either Wisconsin or Milwaukee (or the United States, for that matter), but I have no reason to doubt that they are lovely places to live, work and play. So lovely even, that once upon a time the city council decided to team up with an organisation called Keep America Beautiful in an effort to take down their common enemy. Was this common nemesis crime? Invading aliens? Zombies? No. Nothing as malevolent as those: it was a video game.

Milwaukee. Probably.

A video game that, at the time was set for imminent release on the Sega Dreamcast - Jet Grind/Set Radio. The story goes like this. Upon learning of the upcoming release of Sega's graffiti and rollerblading title, the Milwaukee Common Council passed a resolution petitioning Sega to cancel the release of the game, citing that the glamorisation of tagging walls and trying to evade cartoon cops would inevitably encourage the youth of the city to immediately rush out and start spraying every piece of street furniture and bus with the help of a neon curly arrow. As reported in the November 2000 issue of Dreamcast Magazine (UK) and on Spong.com in September 2000, Suzanne Brier of the Milwaukee Common Council warned that Jet Grind Radio would "...lionize taggers as creative artists."

There are 9 million bicycles in Tokyo-To.

A New Lick Of Paint

Since inception in 2005, The Dreamcast Junkyard has undergone a number of redesigns. The very first incarnation (during which we had a black theme with white text) has been lost to the mists of time, but via the ever-wondrous capabilities of the Wayback Machine, I've managed to capture all of the subsequent page headers and site designs for your enjoyment below. The reason I bring this up, is that you may have noticed the slight redesign of our header image up there. Just point your eyes up a bit. There you go. Looks fantastic no?

This new header image intends to capture the aesthetic of the PAL, NTSC-U and NTSC-J Dreamcast game packaging by incorporating elements of them all. The PAL 'Online Functions' bar that runs along the bottom of the majority of the online-enabled game covers; the 'half-moon' from the US cases; and the orange 'corner segment' from the Japanese covers. I cannot take credit for this work of design genius though, oh no. That credit goes to a certain Mr David Heaton, the creative director of Bristol-based professional graphic design agency Never Know Defeat. With a portfolio representing a plethora of high profile clients, NKD are the real deal and you can find more of David's work here.

On behalf of the team here at the Junkyard, I would like to thank David for creating the new header template for the Junkyard. As the universe's premier destination for original Dreamcast-related content, we thought it was about time we spruced the place up (not that Barry's previous header isn't iconic (it will make a return occasionally)). To this end, David's new template gives us the ability to 'drop in' artwork and images from any Dreamcast game we desire, so let us know which titles you'd like to see represented in the comments section.

DreamPod Episode 12

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If you like what you hear, please consider voting for DreamPod in the final nominations for the UK Podcasters Awards for best Video Games podcast. Thanks!

Vote here!

10th Anniversary Competition: Part Three

 

***COMPETITION NOW CLOSED***

Parts One and Two of our Sega Europe-supported 10th Anniversary Competition have been overwhelmingly successful and have seen two lucky winners each walk away with a highly prized Dreamcast Collection vinyl record. As previously stated, these limited edition LPs were given away in Australia only as part of the promotional activity surrounding the launch of the Dreamcast Collection for the Xbox 360, and only 2000 were ever produced. Due to this, they are pretty damn rare...and we have one left to give away.

In part one of our competition we asked you to explain what the Dreamcast meant to you on a personal level, and while we had lots of brilliant and varied entries, James Steel won with his fantastic (and rather clever) pastiche of game titles woven into a brief description of his love for the system (click for a bigger version, or just download it):

The UK Podcast Awards 2015

The Dreamcast community has spoken: we asked for you to vote, and you did! Thanks to you lot - our readers and listeners - the DreamPod has been shortlisted as a finalist in the UK Podcast Awards video games category. There are three finalists in total and so we're up against stiff competition from Retro Asylum, the UK's number 1 retro-gaming podcast; and also PlayStation Radio UK. I actually got into podcasting by listening to Retro Asylum and the RetroCollect podcast (before getting involved with the latter as a co-host and editor), so I'm actually a little overwhelmed that we are nominees along with such esteemed and long-running productions - especially since DreamPod only started earlier this year.

That said, the final verdict on who wins the category is a joint decision that comes down to both judges' criteria (based on several categories such as social media activity, the podcast website and podcast content) and public vote, so you can still influence this! If you would like to cast a vote in our favour then please visit this link and vote DreamPod! It takes literally seconds and is totally anonymous, should you wish so. Thanks again Dreamcasters - whatever happens, myself and at least a few of the other team members will be in attendance at the awards evening at the Midland Hotel, Manchester on Saturday 12th September 2015. Just being nominated is a massive achievement in itself and we owe it all to you.

There are lots of other categories in these awards - it's not all about games - and there are some fairly big names in the running for a prize, including This American Life, producers of the fantastic Serial podcast that has dominated the iTunes charts for the last thousand years. Others include Freakonomics Radio and the 2000AD Thrillcast.

Click here to cast your vote for us!

The Dreamcast Karaoke Unit

Ever since I first discovered the mysterious karaoke add-on for the Dreamcast, I knew I had to have one. I have spent years scanning eBay and forums looking for a reasonably priced unit, and even enlisted the help of DCGaga at one point, reaching out across the ether to see if it would be possible to have one purchased and shipped to the UK from the distant shores of Japan. Ultimately, the price of surface shipping and the lengthy wait put me off (although I'm thankful for the assistance!), and so I went back to searching auction sites and retro 'for sale' groups. Occasionally I did spot a unit on eBay, but the sellers wanted extortionate sums; and I even discovered a shop in the UK which had one in stock...but again the pricing seemed a little exorbitant for my (admittedly shallow) pockets.

The problem with collecting obscure items for any system is usually an issue of price and trying to accurately determine whether the thing you're searching for is actually worth the equivalent of a months' wage. In many cases it really isn't, and this particular story could have ended in the same way countless others have - with me splashing out money on something I couldn't really afford and had no real need for, other than morbid curiosity and being a complete sucker for anything even remotely Dreamcast-related. We all have our vices, and things like cigarettes and alcohol are clearly on a different level to collecting retrogaming hardware and software, but the similarities are plain to see. It's more a desire to feel that buzz when you finally land the previously unattainable, and the addiction factor of knowing you just have to have that add-on or peripheral or game can be as destructive as either of the aforementioned. But before we get too dark, let's turn the brightness back up: I managed to bag a boxed Dreamcast Karaoke Unit for £40 in an eBay auction! It took me several years, but I finally got my prey. The question is: was it worth the wait?

10th Anniversary Competition Part Two: The Results

So the second part of our fantastic giveaway has come to a close, and the 'guess the games' images really seemed to stump a lot of you! There was at least one red herring in there designed to throw you off the scent, and for the most part it seemed to work - the tennis game pictured was neither of the Virtua Tennis titles available for our white box of joy. Without further ado, here are the answers to our little quiz...how many did you get right?

DreamPod Episode 11

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The Final Indignity

When Sega released the Dreamcast on November 27, 1998, they kick-started the 128-bit generation, or what would now be known as the 6th Generation of gaming consoles. After years of working on a 'Saturn 2' to beef up the 3D capabilities of their flagship device in response to Sony's all conquering (but ageing) PlayStation, they were primed and ready to go to contrarily sweep away their recent history of failure to reclaim the lost throne in the West and also to build upon their newly found and long sought after success in the East. 

It seemed like a good idea to get in early; to build up a good quality software library over the coming year to potentially have the edge over what would turn out to be a lacklustre collection of launch games for their sword of Damocles weilding rival lurking just beyond the horizon. However, despite tempting the masses with a veritable smorgasbord of very tasty gaming treats, they underestimated the patience (and brand loyalty stubbornness) of the average consumer, who were prepared to wait for the privilege of buying a "free" DVD player with their “emotion engines.” 

Aw, what the hell, I don't got that long a lifespan anyway...

To add insult to injury, there were further unintended consequences from getting things off to an early start. The decision to use standard Compact Disc jewel cases for Dreamcast games in Japan and the US was simple, elegant, sensible and unpretentious. There was no stigma associated with the jewel case in Japan, as it was the de facto standard for just about all the recently successful video game systems (with the exception of Nintendo's bewildering use of flimsy cardboard boxes), including but not limited to the NEC PC Engine, Sony's PlayStation and Sega's own Saturn, which was not the downtrodden aborted foetus that it became in the West, but a glorious golden child that was much loved in its home country. 

I imagine that Saturn games and Dreamcast games sat proudly side-by-side in Japanese game stores, much like how the Master System and Mega Drive games would be joined at the hip in PAL territories during the early years – a state-of-the-art older brother pushing graphical prowess to the cutting edge, alongside an entry-level younger sibling who offered a large back catalogue of unique, simpler but no less charming games. 

It's surprisingly difficult to find photographic evidence of a glorious
Japanese Saturn and Dreamcast retail display from the late '90s
(or maybe my google-fu is lacking)

The jewel case was also well suited to the US market, as it created some distance from the bad history associated with the monstrosity that was the oversized Sega CD/Saturn plastic cases of old, and put the Dreamcast on equal footing with the reigning champ at the time, ensuring the new breed of casual playstation-era gamers wouldn't be confused by any unconventional game case designs. This was a victory for common sense, as Sega doesn't have a particularly good track record when it comes to designing their own game cases (the less said about the PAL territory game cases the better).

Sega Direct Chaos Field Bonus CD

Chaos Field, for the uninitiated (including me!), is a Japan-only shooter that was released in 2004 by Milestone. The game was later released for the Gamecube, PS2, Wii and others but the Dreamcast version came first, possibly due to the game being a NAOMI conversion. While Chaos Field generally garnered average review scores, that the Dreamcast was still receiving official releases in 2004 proves how popular the system remained in it's homeland. Technically, the USA is Sega's homeland...but you get the idea.

Anyway, people who ordered Chaos Field from Sega Direct received not only the game in it's lovely jewel case, but also a special edition bonus CD containing remixed tracks from the main game. Last week I managed to bad this bonus CD in an eBay auction for a few pounds...and here it is:

Game Designer and Voice Actor Brian Silva Reveals Info on Hydro Thunder 2 and the Original Concept for Floigan Bros.

Over at SEGAbits, where I spend a bulk of my time writing about games, I host a podcast called the SEGAbits Swingin' Report Show. While the show initially was a weekly recap of the latest SEGA news, it slowly morphed into an interview show featuring game developers and industry talent. Suffice to say, interviews proved far more popular and we stuck with the format. Our most recent show is a real gem, as it is one of those shows where we feature somebody who really hasn't been asked about his work in the games industry. That's a shame, because our guest Brian Silva is a man with an insane amount of talent and a resume that would make any gamer's jaw drop.

Brian worked at Accolade, Midway, Visual Concepts and Blizzard creating many games you probably played and a few you wish you played but never could because they went unreleased. Brian served as a voice actor and game designer on the Bubsy series in the 16-bit days, Midway's Hydro Thunder for arcades (a Dreamcast favorite!) and he created the initial concept for Floigan Bros in 1996 when the game was to be released on Sony's Playstation. That's right, the voice of Bubsy is the Hydro Thunder announcer and he played a key role in developing both franchises. Is your mind blown? Well prepare for more, as I tell you that Brian also told us about the cancelled Hydro Thunder 2.

So quit reading and check out the latest Swingin' Report Show featuring Brian Silva!

DreamConn Wireless Dreamcast Controller Appears On eBay

Here's something we haven't seen before - A true wireless controller for the Dreamcast. While the system has a butt-load of peripherals, they're all wired - even the Samba De Amigo maracas are tethered by a cord. Wired controllers were very much par for the course in the late 90s and early 2000s though and stuff like the Nintendo Gamecube Wavebird came a little later (although the Sega Saturn - amongst others - did get infrared wireless controllers iirc). Wireless is all the rage now and it seems one hardware modder thought the old Dreamcast needed to get in on the action. Enter the DreamConn:

Here's the blurb from the eBay France auction:

DreamConn is the first REAL Wireless Controller for the Sega Dreamcast.

As seen in the photos, DreamConn is an original Dreamcast controller that is modified to be wireless. Enjoy your beloved console with no more cables!

DreamPod Episode 10

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As well as being available on iTunes, Stitcher, Buzzsprout and YouTube, DreamPod is also listed on the UK Podcast Directory. Nominations are now open for the 2015 UK Podcast Awards, and while our podcast suffers from the usual issues an amateur production encounters, we have one thing a lot of the others don't: absolute passion for the subject. None of the team get paid for any of this content, yet we do our best to bring new, fresh content to the Dreamcast community as often as we can. We do this all in our spare time.

To this end, we'd be honoured if you'd show your support for the only Dreamcast-centric podcast around by giving us a nomination. The very notion that a Dreamcast podcast could be at a prestigious awards ceremony like this is mind-blowing in 2015 - 14 years after the system was cut loose. Please consider nominating us by visiting our listing page here and clicking on the big red button!

スーパースピードレーシング - A Super Speed Surprise

Super Speed Racing was never released in the PAL territories, which is a bit of shame. The reasons for this statement I will reveal in due course, but before that here's what you need to know about this oft maligned racer. Based on the now defunct CART racing league, Super Speed Racing was a Japanese launch title for the Dreamcast that also made an appearance in the US as Flag to Flag. Featuring 19 tracks of both traditional oval and street varieties, 27 real drivers and 18 teams there's a lot to interest any fan of the real life motorsport. Well, the real life motorsport of 1999. 

Up until few days ago I'd never played either the Japanese or US iteration - I'd never really had any inclination or desire to investigate due to the overwhelmingly negative reviews Zoom's game garnered on release. So why am I writing this now? Well, it's because I bought it for £3 and was expecting an absolute car crash (excuse the pun), but upon experiencing it I felt that the record needed to be put straight: Super Speed Racing is one of the most enjoyable racers I've played on the Dreamcast. You read that right. 

I walked into this expecting to be totally underwhelmed by shoddy graphics, rubbish controls and hardly anything of any worth, but in actual fact I discovered a highly playable and entertaining racing game with a lot of positives. I'm not an expert by any means when it comes to CART, the history of the sport or the minutiae of the culture, but I do know what makes an enjoyable experience and Super speed Racing just has it.

Review – 式神の城 (Shikigami no Shiro 2)

Release date: March 25, 2004

Developer:  Alfa System

Genre: Shmup (Vertical scrolling)

Current retail: £70-75 (eBay)

‘Right, number one, fuck you Jeff! Number two, yes Neal you are right as ever, a shoot-em-up necessitates a fucking spacecraft and three, if I hear another fucking teenager saying that Sine Mora is the best shmup ever...’ – Steve, Super Red Green Blue

Depending on how much of a shmup purist you are – in my case I would say I'm now a kind of Guardianista shmupper – either one or both of the latter two assertions in the quote above will resonate with you. Technically speaking, at least according to some of the more hardcore areas of the genre fan base, a shmup has to have a flying craft to be considered cannon.  No ifs no buts. If you aren't flying some hunk of heavily armed metal then that’s fine, we can hang out and enjoy blowing stuff away, down some beverages and chase score, but that title is never going to enter the historic halls of the shmup guild. You either have it or you are dead to the genre.

Each character has a primary and secondary attack. They vary in usefulness.

At one time I counted myself among these chosen brethren. The purity of the ideal was powerful. You either have it or you are dead. It helped reaffirm my gaming identity, putting down a marker that separated those who were in-scene and those who were casual, pretenders, far younger than me and had missed the shmup golden years. No fucking wanna-be hipster teenager was going to gate-crash my party and start expounding how Sine Mora was the best shooter ever. How could this moron understand? When you've ridden the fever dream dragon of Radiant Silvergun and drunk the milk of paradise, how do you even explain what you once saw? Far from bullet hell, it was bullet heaven.

Game Heaven PS1 Dreamcast Controller

Here's an interesting item. It's an unashamedly unofficial third party controller for the Dreamcast. Nothing unusual in that - there are plenty of third party Dreamcast peripherals, produced by a myriad different companies and they vary wildly in quality. Oddly, the best third party peripheral I've personally come across is the Treamcast DreamPhoto mouse I looked at a few months ago and that thing is about as unofficial as it's possible to get without calling your device the Mega Breamcast. But back to the present - here's the Game Heaven 'For DC.' That's actually what it says on the packaging, and as your eyes will no doubt be telling your brain as you look at the lovely images, it's a Dreamcast controller in the shape of a PlayStation pad.

Quite why this exists is something of a mystery, but I'm glad it does because without it, I wouldn't be writing this tripe for you lovely people to read.

According to the garishly-coloured cardboard inlay, the Game Heaven (I can't bring myself to refer to it as the 'For DC,' even though that's technically what I should be calling it, going by the box) was produced in that country where copyrights and trademarks are little more than rumours -  China. Due to this, I'm willing to bet that this was actually created for the Treamcast, but don't quote me on that - there's every possibility it was just made there to be exported so that fools like me could spend money on one. But am I a fool? Am I? I'd like to offer the notion that no, I am not a fool. Far from it. How so? Well, because the Game Heaven is actually a fantastic controller. No, wait - hear me out.